Terre Haute, IN - The Illinois Tech Volleyball team traveled to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology down in Terre Haute, Indiana over the weekend to compete in the Rose-Hulman Invite. The Hawks lost all four matches of the weekend bringing their record to 1-5 for the season.
Anderson 3, Tech 0 (25-18, 25-21, 30-28)
The first opponent of the Invite, Anderson University gave the Hawks trouble from the start. Tech trailed the Ravens the entire first set losing 25-18. After the slow start, they began to battle back in the second set with middles Taylor Duman and Claire Fraeyman leading the way; Duman hitting .555 with 5 kills and Fraeyman hitting .333 with 3 kills. The Ravens were still able to clinch the set 21-25. Hawks came out charged in the third and almost pulled out a win taking Anderson to an exciting rally for rally set. However, Anderson was able to pull it out the win with 30-28 finish.
In the end, it was Anderson's defense that proved too much for the Hawks to handle, posting 19 blocks to Tech's 8 and 45 digs to Tech's 37. Annie Bachman led Anderson for kills in the set with 9, with Melissa Baab following her with 8. For Tech, Adriane Walther, Irena Grauzinis, and Taylor Duman lead in kills with 8 apiece.
Rose-Hulman 3, Tech 1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-16, 25-15)
Tech came out swinging versus Rose Hulman with both outsides Irena Grauzinis and Adriane Walther posting 6 and 5 kills respectively and a combined hitting percentage of .299 in the first match. Rose was still able to pull out a close 25 to 23 win. Hawks responded big in the second set with Grauzinis and Duman adding 6 more kills each to the board. Hawks went on to win the set 22-25 and held the momentum going into the third. Although Hawks started strong in the third, their offense began to waiver which RHIT immediately took advantage of. RHIT went on to win the third and fourth sets 25-26, 25-15.
Despite the loss, Tech's defense had an impressive match digging 77 balls to Rose-Hulman's 73. Freshman Libero Reya Green put up 21 digs with Irena Grauzinis adding[ 17. Both Grauzinis and Walther posted double-doubles on the match in kills and digs. Setter Shea Manley finished the match with 41 total assists.
Defiance 3, Tech 1 (25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 25-19)
In their first match on Sunday, the Hawks faced Defiance College. Tech again started off slow against the Yellow Jackets and dropped the first and second sets. Hawks started to turn things in the third producing 14 team kills with Freshman middle Claire Fraeyman contributing 4 and senior middle Taylor Duman adding 5. The Hawks were able to pull off a win in the tense third set 26-24. Defiance answered back immediately the in the fourth, defeating the Hawks 25-19.
The Hawks defense was no match for the Yellow Jackets kill leader, Kelsey Anderson who posted 14 kills for the match, and Kelsey Tietje who followed with 9. Tech's Taylor Duman had an impressive match finishing with 16 total kills. Setter Shea Manley assisted with 39 sets and 2 kills of her own.
Ohio Wesleyan 3, Tech 0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-15)
Hawks started off slow in their last match of the Invite and were not able to find the momentum to turn things around. Defensively, Tech struggled as Ohio Wesleyan posted 32 total kills on the match led by Iris Anderson who had 8. Tech could only produce 21 kills with Adriane Walther leading the way with 6 and Irena Grauzinis next with 5.
This weekend, Tech will travel to Alverno College in Milwaukee to play Alverno, Northland, North Central, and North Park in the Alverno Tri-Match.