Women’s Volleyball Drops Close Fifth Set at Marian

Sinjun Acuna (left) and Justine Bracco (right) had great matches on Tuesday (photo credit: Judith Rackow)
Sinjun Acuna (left) and Justine Bracco (right) had great matches on Tuesday (photo credit: Judith Rackow)

FOND DU LAC, Wis. – The Illinois Tech women's volleyball team traveled to Marian University on Tuesday night for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) match at Marian University. In a tight match, the Scarlet Hawks (3-10, 0-2 NACC) fell to the Sabres (4-12, 1-2 NACC) 3-2.

Set Scores

  •  Marian 3, Tech 2: (14-25, 25-20, 26-24, 17-25, 16-18)

How it Happened

  • After a first set that saw Marian take control, the Scarlet Hawk defense was awesome in set two. Tech totaled three blocks and held the Sabres to a -.041 hit percentage to even up the match.
  • Set three started out in Tech's favor, but a big Marian run erased an eight-point Hawk advantage. With Tech ahead 22-21, the Scarlet Hawks would swing momentum with a Karen Marrufo-Zubaran kill before hanging on to win 26-24.
  • Marian was able to re-establish its offense in the fourth set, ending the 25-17 set on an Amber Yahr kill.
  • In the fifth and final set, the Scarlet Hawks jumped out to a four-point lead at 11-7 before a 5-0 run gave the Sabres a 12-11 advantage. Tech forced an attack error to re-tie the score before a huge block assist by Ellie Leach and Sara Hassell put the Scarlet Hawks ahead and forced a Marian timeout. With the score tied at 16-16, the Sabres scored the final two points of the match.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

  • Marrufo-Zubaran had 11 kills to lead Tech. She also tallied 16 digs.
  • Justine Bracco was awesome, tallying eight kills, a .421 hit percentage, and four total blocks (one solo, three assisted).
  • Allison Wilkins recorded a double-double (21 assists, 12 digs).
  • Sinjin Acuna had 31 digs to lead the team. Courtney Curcio added 15.

Stats to Know

  • Tech's blocking kept the team in the match, outdoing Marian 9-5.
  • Yahr, the Marian setter, had an astounding stat line of eight kills, 27 assists, and 21 digs.

Up Next

  • Tech will oppose another NACC opponent on Friday with a road contest at Rockford University at 7:00 p.m.