LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Illinois Tech women's volleyball team began its 2019 season this weekend in a tough Lake Forest College Tournament, playing three matches in a 21-hour stretch. Despite hanging tough in several sets, the Scarlet Hawks were downed by Lake Forest and St. Mary's (Indiana) 3-1 and also by Loras 3-0.

Set Scores

• Friday: Lake Forest 3, Tech 1 (25-27, 13-25, 25-17, 14-25)
• Friday: Loras 3, Tech 0 (24-26, 23-25, 15-25)
• Saturday: St. Mary's 3, Tech 1 (16-25, 25-22, 22-25, 23-25)

Weekend Highlights

• Tech's best set in the Lake Forest match was the third, which saw the Scarlet Hawks outscore the Foresters by eight and outhit the hosts .200% to .044%. Running a dual-setter attack, the two combined for Tech's last point in the set, as Courtney Darling found Allison Wilkins for a kill. Sara Hassell returned to the court for the first time in over a year to lead Tech with 13 kills, while Sinjin Acuna tallied 27 digs against the Foresters.
• Against Loras on Friday, late runs by the Duhawks were the theme in the first two sets, scoring the final five points in set one and five of the final seven in set two. Jessica Weaver was a force for Tech's offense in this match, however, tallying six kills on a .417 hit percentage. The setting duo of Wilkins and Darling each had 12 assists, with Darling's 11 digs giving her a double-double.
• On Saturday, the final three sets against St. Mary's were tight after the Belles won set one decisively. However, SMC was able to squeak out two of those for the victory. It was Karen Marrufo-Zubaran who had the high kill total for Tech in this one, tallying 13. Defensively, Tech was stout, holding the Bells to a .131 hit percentage while totaling 94 digs and 10 total blocks. Acuna (26), Darling (18), Marrufo-Zubaran (16), Wilkins (16), and Courtney Curcio (10) all had double-digit digs. Wilkins (18 assists) and Darling (16 assists) each had double-doubles.

Up Next

• It is right back up Interstate 90/94 for the Scarlet Hawks on Tuesday, as Tech will take on Lake Forest for a second time. The 7:00 p.m. matchup will be Illinois Tech's tune-up before the team's trip to Denver next weekend.