NAPERVILLE, Ill. - The Illinois Tech women's volleyball team played in a Saturday tri-match at North Central College, taking on Ripon College and host NCC. Tech dropped both matches and moved to 6-8 on the season.

Scores

• Ripon 3, Tech 1: (11-25, 15-25, 25-21, 13-25)
• North Central 3, Tech 0: (15-25, 14-25, 16-25)

How it Happened - Ripon

• Ripon started the match fast, building a 5-1 lead in the first set. Illinois Tech struggled to get close to Ripon and dropped the set 25-11.
• In set two, Ripon used a similar formula, building a 7-1 lead. The Scarlet Hawks hung around until a 6-0 Ripon run ended the set.
• The Scarlet Hawks found some success in set three, as Tech never trailed ouside of Ripon scoring the set's firsst point. Six Irena Grauzinis kills led the way for Tech's 25-21 set win.
• Set four was back-and-forth early on, but a 9-2 mid-set run put Ripon ahead comfortably on its way to a match win.

How it Happened - North Central

• Things were tight to start set one until six straight Cardinal points gave NCC a 12-4 advantage. Illinois Tech never fully recovered and dropped the set 25-15.
• The second set saw another close beginning. After a Grauzinis kill to bring the score to 13-12 in favor of North Central, the Cardinals found another gear and closed the set on a 12-2 run.
• The third set was similar to set two. Tech led 16-15 after a Grauzinis ace, but another Cardinals run put the match away.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Courtney Curcio's serving was strong against Ripon, tallying three aces.
• Courtney Darling recorded 36 assists against Ripon and a total of 53 for the afternoon.
• Reya Green led Tech in digs in both matches and finished the day with 29.
• Irena Grauzinis tallied 16 kills (11 against Ripon) and 14 digs on the day.
• Alyssa Miner 13 kills and three total blocks over the two matches, which included a .308 htting percentage against North Central.
• Taylor Burton totaled 12 kills, two solo blocks, and two block assists on the afternoon.

Stats to Know

• Ripon hit an impressive .457% against Illinois Tech, while North Central finished with a .362 percentage.
• The Scarlet Hawks recorded seven aces in the first match compared to just five for Ripon.

Up Next

• Illinois Tech women's volleyball will host the Scarlet Hawk Invite on Friday and Saturday. Matches are scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m. on Friday and 10:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. A full schedule for the weekend will be posted on www.illinoistechathletics.com in the coming days.