SAINT MARY OF THE WOODS, Ind. - The Illinois Tech women's volleyball team played the first two matches of the weekend at the St. Mary of the Woods tournament on Friday. Tech defeated host SMWC and fell to Rochester College, both matches going five sets. The Scarlet Hawks moved to 9-11 on the season.

Scores

• Tech 3, SMWC 2 (22-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-19, 15-13)
• Rochester 3, Tech 2 (25-13, 18-25, 25-17, 15-25, 15-17)

How it Happened - SMWC Match

• After a back and forth early portion of the first set, the Pomeroys took over with a 6-0 run to take an 11-6 lead. The Scarlet Hawks would storm back to take a 15-14 advantage, but SMWC regained control to win the set 25-22.
• SMWC never trailed in the second set, scoring the first three points of the match and holding on for a 25-19 win.
• The Scarlet Hawks flipped momentum in the third set with a strong beginning, taking a 5-2 lead. The Pomeroys pulled to within one at 16-15, but the Scarlet Hawks held off the hosts and closed the set on a 5-1 run to win 25-19.
• Set four saw the Pomeroys scored the first four points, but the Scarlet Hawks went on an 8-1 run to take a 9-7 lead. Illinois Tech never let go of the lead and won 25-19.
• SMWC led for most of the fifth and final set, as the Scarlet Hawks didn't take a lead until an Irena Grauzinis kill made the score 12-11. With the score at 14-13, a kill from Jelena Vujicic gave the Scarlet Hawks the comeback win.

How it Happened - Rochester

• The Scarlet Hawks dominated sets one and three, hitting .235% and .395% in those sets to win 25-13 and 25-17. Tech went on large runs in the middle of both sets to seal those victories.
• In sets two and four, the scripts were flipped. Rochester was the strong team on attack, hitting .268% in both sets. Tech hit just .132% and -.021% in these sets.
• In the fifth and final set, Tech started fast, taking a 5-0 lead behind two aces from Courtney Curcio. Rochester would not take a lead until an attack error gave them a 12-11 advantage. After a Rochester error gave Tech the advantage back at 13-12, Rochester re-took the lead and went on to win 17-15.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Grauzinis led Tech with 47 kills on the day, recording an impressive .221 hitting percentage against Rochester. She also talled 32 digs and four aces over the two matches.
• Courtney Darling tallied 81 assists and four aces over the two matches.
• Reya Green anchored the back row with 47 digs.
• Curcio added 36 digs and three aces.

Stats to Know

• Tech recorded 53 assists against SMWC compared to just 40 for the Pomeroys.
• The Scarlet Hawks recorded eight aces against the Pomeroys compared to just four for the hosts.
• The Scarlet Hawks also won the ace count against Rochester (8-5).

Up Next

• Illinois Tech will play two more at St. Mary of the Woods on Saturday. The Scarlet Hawks will oppose Berea (9:00 a.m.) and Wright St.-Lake (11:00 a.m.).