DE PERE, WIS.—The Illinois Institute of Technology men's volleyball team paid a visit to first-year program St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet Hawks snapped an eight-match losing skid with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-22, 28-30, 25-21) victory over the Green Knights.

Illinois Tech's first conference win of 2020 gives them a 2-11, 1-1 NACC mark while St. Norbert falls to 3-15, 0-3 NACC.

Andriy Bench came through with a career-high 21 kills on a .279 hitting percentage, which engineered a Scarlet Hawks squad that mustered a .220 figure as a team. Birkholz was a master at the service line with five aces for Illinois Tech to go along with 40 assists. Derek Bostick led all players with 14 digs for the Scarlet Hawks. 

Illinois Tech held St. Norbert to just 0.93 hitting, led by nine kills apiece from Sean Loughney and Ben Rinella. 

The Scarlet Hawks hit the ball on the screws in the opening frame, where they amassed a .588 figure. Bench and Easton Kays combined for nine kills in the set en route to a 25-16 victory. The Green Knights had Illinois Tech on the ropes in set two as they held a 21-19 advantage, but kills from Bench, David Singer and Justin Kim down the stretch cemented a 25-22 decision. 

Illinois Tech opened set three with a 5-0 cushion, but a combined 17 errors in the frame doomed them in a 30-28 loss. The Green Knights returned the favor with 14 errors in set four, which helped the Scarlet Hawks ice a 25-21 victory.

Illinois Tech will travel to Trinity Christian College on Friday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m.