by Eric Willuweit

Lisle, Ill. – Illinois Tech women's volleyball went into their match at Benedictine Wednesday night knowing "if they win, they're in", as in they would secure the sixth and final seed in the NACC post-season tournament. Unfortunately for the Scarlet Hawks, the Eagles proved to be too tough an assignment on this evening, as Benedictine swept the Hawks 3-0 to claim the sixth and final spot in the tournament. The Scarlet Hawks finish conference play at 6-7 and dropped to 14-10 overall. The Eagles finished NACC play at 8-5 and improved to 14-11 overall.

The Scarlet Hawks were never able to gain any traction in the match, as they never led in any of the sets, and only achieved a tie score eight times over the course of the three sets.

How It Happened

Benedictine 3 – Illinois Tech 0

• The Scarlet Hawks fell behind 4-0 early in the opening frame but battled back to tie the set at 9-9. The two teams traded points through 13-13 before the Eagles took six of the next seven points for a 19-14 lead. The Hawks would get no closer than four points the rest of the way as Benedictine took set one, 25-21.
• The Scarlet Hawks again never led in set two, tying the set up early at 2-2 before the Eagles pulled away, outscoring the Hawks 23-10 en route to a 25-12 set two victory.
• The third and final set proved to be the Scarlet Hawks most competitive set, as they never trailed more than three points for a majority of the match, and pulled within two points at 22-20 late in the final frame. The Eagles took three of the final four points scored in the set for the 25-21 set victory, and the 3-0 match victory.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Jessica Weaver paced the Hawks with 8 kills and a .467 attack percentage.
• Stephanie Nguyen had 4 service aces.
• Allison Wilkins led with 16 assists.

Up Next

The Scarlet Hawks close out their season in Naperville Saturday night, when they face host North Central College at 5pm in a non-conference matchup with the Cardinals.