By Jami Sponaugle 

Chicago, Ill. - Returning to the Keating Sports Center for their first home match in March, the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks men's volleyball team welcomed the Edgewood College Eagles for a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match-up.

The Hawks (6-10, 2-1) secured a 3-0 victory over the Eagles (4-13, 0-3) after going 25-23, 25-22, 25-18. 

How it Happened 

Illinois Tech 3 - Edgewood 0

• After being tied at 1-1, the Hawks picked up 7 unanswered points to take a 8-1 lead. After that, the Eagles went on a 6-1 run to come within two points of the Hawks, who held a 9-7 lead. Although the Hawks held the lead, the Eagles slowly closed in before tying the set at 21-21. The two sides would tie again at 23-23 before the Hawks picked up two points to take set one 25-23.

• Set two began as a back-and-forth battle, with 9 different ties that led to the scoreboard reading 13-13. After picking up two points to take the lead, the Hawks led for the remainder of the set. The Hawks took set two 25-22.

• Taking a early 7-3 lead, the Hawks led the Eagles to begin the third set. Then, the Eagles came back to tie and ultimately took the lead from the Hawks. The Hawks briefly tied the set at 10-10 before the Eagles went back on top. Three ties would take place before the Hawks went on a 6-0 run. The Eagles recorded one more point before the Hawks secured a 25-18 set victory to win the match. 

Scarlet Hawks Standouts

• Riley Laite led the Hawks with 13 kills and 26 total attacks.

• Jackson Van Engen had 7 kills, 11 total attacks, and a .636 kill percentage.

• Elijah Johnson had 24 assists throughout the match. 

Eagles Standouts

• Jake Chapman led the Eagles with 10 kills, a .769 kills percentage, and 27 assists. 

• Gavin Patterson finished with 5 kills, 2 assists, 6 digs, and 2 blocks. 

Head Coach Mike Oswald's Comments

"Tonight felt good. We certainly had our struggles with a few key players but we were able to stick with our plan and play out points. We treated the ball well when we were there to make the play. We missed a lot of opportunities but made the ones we earned, count. The effort gives us a good feeling and confidence for the rest of the weekend and our upcoming conference stretch."

Up Next

The Hawks turn around and will host a tri-match on Saturday. They welcome Wisconsin Lutheran College Warriors and Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets to the Keating Sports Center. The Hawks take on the Warriors at 1:00 p.m., followed by the Warriors and Yellow Jackets facing off at 3:00 p.m. The evening will end with the Hawks versus the Yellow Jackets starting at 5:00 p.m.