Chicago, Ill — Illinois Tech Women's Volleyball defeated MSOE 3-1 before losing 3-1 to Wheaton (IL), with both matches played at Keating Sports Center. The Scarlet Hawks moved to 14-7 overall and 5-2 in NACC play after beating MSOE, then to 14-8 following the Wheaton (IL) match. Against MSOE, Illinois Tech won 27-25, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22 while recording 61 kills and a .210 hitting percentage. MSOE had 34 kills and hit .099. The win against MSOE improves the Hawks to 3rd place in the NACC standings just past the midway point in the conference season.
Brooke Rifkin also was able to cross the 1000 dig total in her Scarlet Hawk career. Congratulations Brooke!
Match vs MSOE
The Scarlet Hawks erased a 25-24 deficit in the opening set, tying it on a
Sydney Wilson kill before two Raider attack errors completed the 27-25 result. After MSOE won the second set, Illinois Tech used a four-point run to turn a 19-16 third-set deficit into a 20-19 lead.
Karla Trautmann Mendez later reached set point with a kill, and a block by Wilson and
Lilia Donaldson ended the set 25-23.
Payton Smith's kill completed the fourth set, 25-22.
Trautmann Mendez had 17 kills, 19.5 points and three block assists against Raider.
Rowan Midgette recorded 45 assists and 16 digs,
Brooke Rifkin had 30 digs and seven assists, and Donaldson finished with eight kills and five total blocks. Rifkin also reached 1,000 career digs during the match.
Match vs Wheaton
Wheaton won the next match 30-28, 25-15, 18-25, 25-17. Illinois Tech finished with 34 kills and a .136 hitting percentage, while Wheaton (IL) totaled 58 kills and hit .238.
Illinois Tech held set point at 24-20 in the opener, but Wheaton (IL) tied the set with four straight points. The Scarlet Hawks answered four Wheaton (IL) set points before consecutive kills by Sydney Overweg and Mary Patrick ended the set.
After the Thunder took the second set, Illinois Tech turned a 2-2 tie into an 11-3 lead in the third. Wheaton (IL) later pulled within 20-18, but Donaldson recorded a kill and
Toshiko Jones served the final four points of the 25-18 win. Wheaton (IL) opened the fourth set with five straight points and closed the match with a 25-17 result.
Trautmann Mendez led Illinois Tech with 12 kills and 14.5 points against Wheaton (IL). Rifkin had a team-high 13 digs,
Olivia McMath recorded a team-high 13 assists, and
Victoria Aspurez posted eight kills without an error on 18 attempts for a .444 hitting percentage.
Up next
The Scarlet Hawks host Lakeland University on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. at Keating Sports Center in Chicago, Illinois.
