CHICAGO—The second doubleheader of 2019-20 was upon the Illinois Institute of Technology men's volleyball team at the Keating Sports Center on Saturday, where they hosted Aurora University and UC Santa Cruz in a pair of non-conference affairs. The Scarlet Hawks jumped to a 2-0 lead over Aurora, who came from behind and secured a 3-2 win. The Banana Slugs ended the day with a 3-0 sweep over IIT.
The Scarlet Hawks fall to 1-10 after Saturday's two-game swing.
"We just have to continue to think the big picture," said IIT head men's volleyball coach Mark Johnston. "Once March hits, our conference matches start. We're slowly getting better and putting things together, but when March hits that's when it's going to count. Our ultimate goal is to make the conference tournament. Our number one goal is to finish among the top six teams in the conference, and that's what we're working towards now."
Aurora 3, IIT 2
The Scarlet Hawks (.183) and Aurora (.200) were relatively even hitting the ball in the match. Andriy Bench notched nine of his 14 kills over the first two sets that resulted in a 2-0 lead for IIT. However, Thomas Kovanic registered 13 of his 20 kills over the final three sets for Aurora, which helped them come from behind and defeat IIT 3-2.
The service line proved to be Illinois Tech's achilles heel in the match as they committed 27 errors. Easton Kays was efficient for the Scarlet Hawks with eight kills on a .333 hitting mark. Evan Robeck commanded the IIT defense with seven assisted blocks and one solo while Derek Bostick tallied 12 digs. Jannik Birkholz dished 40 assists for Illinois Tech.
UC Santa Cruz 3, IIT 0
Justin Kim was the Scarlet Hawks' unsung hero with 13 kills on a .440 hitting mark. The defense was all Bostick and Birkholz, who each notched nine digs. Birkholz posted 28 assists for IIT.
Rowdy Lennon paced the Banana Slugs with 13 kills while Sam Wittert and Tennessee Fulks each registered 17 assists. UC Santa Cruz out hit IIT .405 - .172. The Scarlet Hawks minimized their service errors in the match as they only committed nine.
The Banana Slugs appeared in the 2019 NCAA Division III National Championship match, where they fell to SUNY New Paltz 3-1.
IIT will open NACC play at Concordia Chicago on Tuesday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m.