Madison, Wis. — Illinois Tech Women's Volleyball (17-10, 8-4 NACC) lost to Edgewood (20-8, 10-2 NACC) 3-0 on Saturday at Todd Wehr Edgedome. The Scarlet Hawks fell by set scores of 23-25, 22-25 and 23-25, finishing with 32 kills and 11 service aces. The Scarlet Hawks will be the number 5 seed in the NACC Tournament and face MSOE in the opening round.
How It Happened
After the Eagles moved ahead 3-1 on a Scarlett Simkowski kill, the Scarlet Hawks answered with seven straight points, including four
Victoria Aspurez service aces, to take an 8-3 lead. After a
Rowan Midgette-
Lilia Donaldson block made it 10-4, Donaldson and
Sydney Wilson added kills and
Karla Trautmann Mendez served two aces as the Scarlet Hawks pushed ahead 16-6. The Eagles worked back from 18-11 to 18-17 during a run that included a Nida Zukauskaite kill and ace and a Molly Amendt kill, but Trautmann Mendez had three late kills and the Scarlet Hawks led 23-19 after another Midgette-Donaldson block. The Eagles took the last six points, getting kills from Natalie Murphy and Payton Millin before Anna Marinier served through the tying attack error, a Millin-Zukauskaite block for 24-23 and a set-closing ace for a 25-23 win.
The Scarlet Hawks started the second set with a
Payton Smith kill from
Olivia McMath and a McMath service ace for a 2-0 lead, but the Eagles answered with three straight points and the score was tied at 14-14 after a Molly Amendt kill. The Eagles moved ahead 17-14 on three straight Scarlet Hawks attack errors, the last off a Payton Millin/Natalie Murphy block, before the Scarlet Hawks pulled even at 17-17 on a Midgette kill and a Trautmann Mendez ace. The Scarlet Hawks later took a 21-19 lead with an Aspurez/Smith block and an Eagles attack error, but the Eagles scored the next four points, including kills by Amendt and Nida Zukauskaite and an Abbey Eivins ace, to go in front 23-21. After an Eagles attack error brought the Scarlet Hawks within 23-22, Amendt put down a kill and the Eagles closed the set 25-22 on a bad set.
In the third set, the Scarlet Hawks built an 8-4 lead behind kills from Trautmann Mendez and a service ace from
Annalise Clark, but the Eagles worked back and moved in front 13-11 during a five-point run. The Eagles later led 20-16 before Trautmann Mendez put down a kill, served an ace and was part of sequences around the net with Donaldson and Midgette as the Scarlet Hawks pulled back within one. Smith tied the set at 21-21, and a block by Aspurez and Midgette gave the Scarlet Hawks a 22-21 lead. After Smith's kill put the Scarlet Hawks ahead 23-22, the Eagles took the final three points, closing the set 25-23 on consecutive kills by Nida Zukauskaite.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
Karla Trautmann Mendez
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- team-high 10 kills
- 4 service aces
- 5 digs
- team-high 14.0 points
Victoria Aspurez
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- 5 kills
- 4 service aces
- 3 block assists
- 10.5 points
Rowan Midgette
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- team-high 17 assists
- team-high 5 total blocks
- 5 digs
Sydney Wilson
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- 8 kills
- .231 hitting percentage
- 4 digs
Brooke Rifkin
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- team-high 9 digs
- 2 assists
Eagles Top Performers
Nida Zukauskaite
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- 11 kills on .346 hitting
- 7 digs
- 12.5 points
Abbey Eivins
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- 18 assists
- 6 digs
- 1 service ace
Shannon Rusch
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- 14 digs
- 4 assists
Molly Amendt
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- 8 kills on .350 hitting
- 1 solo block
- 9.0 points
Laila Rasmussen
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- 14 assists
- 5 digs
Match Notes
- Scarlet Hawks fall to 1-8 all-time vs. the Eagles
Up Next
Up next, the Scarlet Hawks will play MSOE in the quarterfinals of the NACC Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 10th.
