by Eric Willuweit
Chicago, Ill. – After a rousing victory the night before over previously conference-unbeaten Concordia Wisconsin, the Illinois Tech women's volleyball team suffered a tough defeat Saturday at the Keating Center, losing a very hard-fought match with Lakeland University, 3-1, on Senior Day. The Scarlet Hawks dropped to 6-6 in conference play, and to 14-9 overall. The Muskies improved to 8-4 in the NACC, and 15-12 overall. The Scarlet Hawks can no longer catch Lakeland in the standings.
The Scarlet Hawks no longer control their post-season destiny, and will have to defeat current sixth seed, Benedictine, next Wednesday in Lisle and get some help to secure the final conference post-season berth.
Despite the loss, the team honored their three senior players before the match with a pre-game ceremony. Jessica Weaver, Allison Wilkins and Ellie Leach were recognized by Head Coach Mark Johnston in a speech to the crowd in the Keating Center, filled with family and friends of the three seniors and their teammates.
How It Happened
Lakeland 3 – Illinois Tech 1
- The teams traded the first two sets, with the Scarlet Hawks taking the opening set 25-23, while the Muskies took set two, 25-20.
- The third set turned out to be the turning point in the match, with Lakeland eventually securing a 32-30 victory. The Hawks held a five-point lead at 13-8. The Muskies countered and held a three-point lead at 20-17. The Hawks held the first set point opportunity at 24-23 but could not close out. Similarly, the Muskies held set point at 26-25 and could not close out. In all, the Hawks had five set point close out opportunities but couldn't capitalize. The Muskies could not close out on their first two chances, but ultimately did on their third attempt, for the 32-30 set three victory.
- The Scarlet Hawks held a 17-13 lead midway through set four, but the Muskies tied the match at 18-18. The Hawks final lead was 19-18, but Lakeland finished with a 7-1 run to close out set four 25-20, and the match victory 3-1.
Scarlet Hawk Standouts
- Moore finished with 19 kills, 37 receptions with only one error and 9 digs.
- Zoe Michael added 10 kills, a .409 attack percentage, 8 for 8 in receptions and one block assist.
- Weaver had 3 block assists.
- Grace Reckamp led with 20 assists and had 1 kill.
- Wilkins added 18 assists with 2 service aces and 1 kill.
- Kelsey Starnes had 27 receptions, 25 digs and 1 service ace.
Up Next
The Scarlet Hawks close out the regular season in Lisle Wednesday night, when they face host Benedictine at 7pm in a NACC matchup, with a chance to still secure a post-season berth.