Milwaukee, WI - The volleyball team traveled to two different tournaments this weekend and picked up three wins in the process. The team started the weekend off beating both Alverno College and Northland College at the Alverno Tri-Match on Friday, September 12th.
Tech 3, Alverno 1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 26-24)
Alverno College served as the Hawks first opponent in the Alverno Tri-Match Friday. The last time the two teams met a week ago, the Hawks defeated Alverno 3-0 in their Home Opener. This time around, Alverno put up a fight on their home court. They completely took control of the first after a 10 point run that put the score at 21-10 Alverno. The Inferno went on to win the first set 25-17. Tech was able to answer back winning the next two sets 25-20. Alverno lead the majority of the fourth set but Hawks were able to finish the job with a 26-24 finish. Hawks had an impressive match offensively, with point leader, Taylor Duman, hitting .156 for the match with 14 kills, 6 service aces and 4 blocks. Adriane Walther managed a double-double posting 14 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Claire Fraeyman had her season high in kills with 9 kills hitting .429. Furthermore, setter Shea Manley put up 39 assists and 6 kills of her own, hitting .385. Alverno's point leader Emily Ortner had 14 kills and hit .429 for the match.
Tech 3, Northland 0 (9-25, 10-25, 14-25)
Tech went on to finish the Alverno Tri-Match with a 3-0 sweep of Northland College. The Hawks, who lead the entire match, had a 39 kills to Northland's 14, and 15 service aces to Northland's 0. Tech's offense had a fantastic match, with all hitters above .200. Claire Fraeyman hit .583 with 8 kills. Irena Grauzinis lead the match with 15 total points, with 10 kills and 5 aces.
Aurora, IL - On Saturday, September 13th they continued on to the Aurora University Invite, where after a tough loss to North Central College, they battled their way to another win against North Park. The wins bring the Hawks record to 4-6 overall on the young 2014 season. Next weekend they will travel back to Milwaukee, WI for the Inferno-Angel Classic at Mount Mary University.
North Central 3, Tech 0 (25-23 25-16, 25-13)
Tech opened the Aurora University Invite Saturday against the undefeated North Central Cardinals. The Hawks started strong matching NCC with 11 kills in the first and barely losing the set 25-23. NCC proved too much for the Hawks to handle in the next two sets and proceeded to sweep the Hawks in 3. Despite the loss, Tech beat NCC in nearly every statistical category with 27 kills to NCC's 25 and 49 digs to their 45. Leading in points again for the Hawks was Taylor Duman with 11 kills hitting .231. Adriane Walther followed hitting .161 with 9 kills.
Tech 3, North Park 1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-23, 25-23)
In their last match of the weekend against North Park, Tech seemed to have the upper hand dominating the first set 25-17. However, after an offensive response from North Park and a streak of errors from the Hawks, North Park took the second set 25-16. North Park continued to battle with outside hitters Monalisa Fasavalu and Sa'Vone Williams racking up kills and causing trouble for the Hawks. However, Tech was able to finish strong with a 25-23 win in the 4th. Taylor Duman led Tech in both kills and blocks with 8 and 4 respectively. Both Irena Grauzinis and Claire Fraeyman followed with 7 kills apiece.