by Eric Willuweit

Milwaukee, Wis. – A slow start by the Illinois Tech men's volleyball turned into a four-set battle against MSOE, but in the end the Scarlet Hawks fell to the Raiders 3-1 Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The Scarlet Hawks open NACC play 0-1 and fall to 3-5 overall. The Raiders open conference play 1-0 and improve to 3-4 overall.

Jackson Van Engen led the Scarlet Hawks on the attack, finishing with 13 kills. Grant Couper handled 38 out of 39 serve receptions.

"We were hopeful for a NACC win tonight but just couldn't make it happen" said Head Coach Mike Oswald. "MSOE served the ball really well in the first set disrupting our offense and made it really difficult to earn points. We bounced back and fought hard the rest of the match but couldn't overcome the momentum. Some of our troubles were exposed so we know what we need to address through the rest of the week" said Oswald.

How It Happened

MSOE 3 – Illinois Tech 1

• The Scarlet Hawks opened the match sluggishly, falling behind 4-1. After winning the next two points to pull within 4-3, the Raiders chipped away, eventually using a 4-0 run to take a 15-8 lead en route to their 25-14 set one victory.
• Set two was an extended battle, with each team trading points deep into the set. The Raiders were able to extend to a four-point lead late at 20-16. The Scarlet Hawks capitalized on a 9-3 run to draw even at 23-23. The Raiders claimed the next point to move to set point, but the Hawks countered by taking the next two points to move to set point at 25-24. Illinois Tech was unable to close out the Raiders, however, and MSOE was able eventually able to complete a 2-0 run to claim set two, 30-28.
• After MSOE opened a 10-5 lead in set three, the Scarlet Hawks sprung to action, completing a 12-2 run to take over the set at 17-12. The Raiders would get no closer than four points the rest of the way, as the Hawks took set three 25-19.
• In set four, neither team could gain advantage until let in the set. With the score tied at 17-17, the Raiders used a 5-0 run to take a 22-17 lead, and closed out with a 25-19 set four victory to take the match.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Van Engen paced the Hawks with 13 kills to go with a .345 attack percentage. He also recorded 2 solo blocks and 1 block assist.
• Grant Couper added 7 kills, while adding 3 combined blocks.

MSOE Watch

• Carter Shavitz amassed 20 kills and a .405 attack rate. Ryan Lively led the Griffins with 13 kills.
• James Zippay added 14 kills.
• Tommy Clausz had 9 kills and added 3 block assists.

Up Next

The Scarlet Hawks are back on the road Friday night, when they travel south in the city to face Saint Xavier at 7:00 PM in a resumption of non-conference play.