Forester Invitational - Hosted by Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Ill. — Illinois Tech had a strong showing on Saturday, defeating Eureka 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-14) and Alverno 3-0 (25-12, 25-15, 25-12) to complete a 3-0 showing in the Lake Forest College Forester Invitational. The Scarlet Hawks hit .328 against Eureka with 45 kills while holding the Red Devils to a .032 hitting percentage and 24 kills. Against Alverno, Illinois Tech hit .284 with 39 kills while limiting the Inferno to 16 kills and a -.010 hitting percentage. Including the Scarlet Hawk's wins against Elmhurst on Wednesday and against Lake Forest College on Friday night, the team completed a 4-0 week of competition.
Lilia Donaldson paced the Hawks on Saturday with 19 kills and 9 blocks over the two matches.
Illinois Tech is 7-4 overall following these matches, while Eureka falls to 6-5 and Alverno is now 2-8.
How It Happened
**Against Eureka:**
The Scarlet Hawks answered the Red Devils' opening point with kills from
Victoria Aspurez and
Karla Trautmann Mendez, building a 7-3 lead after
Lilia Donaldson's kill and a Red Devils attack error. After the Red Devils got within 11-6, Donaldson put down a kill to return serve to Illinois Tech.
Brooke Rifkin then served through a nine-point stretch that included kills by Aspurez, Rifkin, and
Payton Smith, a Rifkin ace, and four Red Devils attack errors to make it 21-6. The Red Devils managed to take six of the next nine points to reach 24-12, but
Sydney Wilson stopped their momentum with a kill, and Donaldson finished the set from
Rowan Midgette's assist for a 25-12 win.
In the second set, the score remained even at 10-10, with the Scarlet Hawks receiving early kills from Aspurez, Wilson, Smith, Midgette, and Trautmann Mendez. Illinois Tech pulled ahead with four consecutive points, highlighted by a Trautmann Mendez kill and two block-assisted Red Devils attack errors involving Donaldson, leading to a 14-10 advantage. Donaldson delivered three kills during a five-point Illinois Tech run, extending the lead to 19-11. The Scarlet Hawks continued to trade sideouts, closing the set at 25-15 after a Red Devils attack error.
The third set saw Illinois Tech build an early edge with contributions from Wilson and Donaldson, leading 8-3 after Smith's kill. After a Red Devils response, Smith put Illinois Tech ahead 9-4. Rifkin served the next six points, which included two Red Devils attack errors, Smith's kill, Trautmann Mendez's kill, and an ace from Rifkin, pushing the lead to 15-4. The Scarlet Hawks maintained control and finished the set 25-14 on a Red Devils attack error.
**Against Alverno:**
Rowan Midgette opened the first set with an ace as the Scarlet Hawks traded points with the Inferno through a 5-5 tie.
Lilia Donaldson's kill then put Illinois Tech ahead 6-5. With
Annalise Clark serving, the Scarlet Hawks took the next four points, culminating in a Clark ace, and after a brief stop by Alverno,
Payton Smith's kill and back-to-back aces from Rifkin pushed the lead to 13-6. Illinois Tech continued to separate with an ace from
Victoria Aspurez, a
Sydney Wilson kill, and consecutive kills from Trautmann Mendez, closing the set with Wilson's kill and another ace from Clark for a 25-12 win.
In the second set, the Inferno initially moved ahead 3-1, but the Scarlet Hawks quickly responded with a six-point run, featuring kills from
Cecilia Veters, Aspurez, and a Donaldson block. The Inferno kept pace, cutting the margin to 9-7, but the Scarlet Hawks maintained a response with sideouts from Lopez, Smith, and Veters, leading to a 16-13 advantage. The Scarlet Hawks then won seven of eight rallies, finishing the set 25-15 with a kill from Smith.
The third set began with Alverno scoring the first three points, but Illinois Tech quickly evened the score at 3-3 with kills by Veters and Aspurez. They then moved ahead 5-4 on another Veters kill and pushed the margin to 12-5 during a Lopez service turn that included two Donaldson kills. A six-point run led by Zinkiewicz, featuring two aces and a Donaldson kill, put the Scarlet Hawks up 18-6. Late kills from Smith, Aspurez, and Veters helped close the set at 25-12 with a final block from Donaldson.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
**
Lilia Donaldson**
----------------------
- Team-high 16.0 points against Eureka
- Team-high 5 solo blocks against Alverno
- 13 kills on .571 hitting against Eureka
- 6 kills against Alverno
- 4 blocks (including 2 solo) against Eureka
- 11.0 points against Alverno
**
Payton Smith**
----------------------
- 11 kills on .500 hitting against Eureka
- Team-high 7 kills in Alverno match
- 11 digs against Eureka
- .500 hitting percentage against Alverno
- 12.0 points against Eureka
**
Rowan Midgette**
----------------------
- Team-high 25 assists against Eureka
- Team-high 11 assists against Alverno
- 10 digs against Eureka
- 6 digs against Alverno
**
Brooke Rifkin**
----------------------
- Team-high 13 digs against Eureka
- 2 service aces in both matches
- 3 assists against Eureka
**
Maya Zinkiewicz**
----------------------
- 12 digs against Eureka
- 3 assists against Eureka
- 2 service aces against Alverno
Red Devils and Inferno Top Performers
Eureka:
- Cloee O'Donoghue: 16 digs
- Kaitlyn Robinson: 11 assists, 7 digs
- Jessica Sharp: 8 assists, 12 digs
- Lexi Liaromatis: 12 digs, 2 assists
- Colby Grieff: 4 kills on .200 hitting
Alverno:
- Brooklynne Hereford: 15 digs, 2 assists
- Beyonca Hereford: 10 assists, 9 digs, 2 kills
- Mary Needham: 4 kills, 4 digs, 1 assist
- Olivia McCann: 4 kills
Match Notes:
- Illinois Tech improves to 3-0 lifetime against Eureka.
- The Scarlet Hawks have now won 13 consecutive matches against Alverno.
- Donaldson achieved a season-high of 5 solo blocks against Alverno.
- Smith maintained a hitting percentage of at least .500 in two consecutive matches.
- The team collected at least 61 digs in four consecutive matches.
- The Scarlet Hawks maintained a hitting percentage of at least .284 for two consecutive matches.
- Rifkin has recorded two or more service aces in three consecutive matches.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks will host Aurora University on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. at Keating Sports Center in their NACC conference opener.
