Three in a Row: Men’s Volleyball Wins Third Straight

March 19, 2019Posted in: Athletics

RIVER FOREST, Ill.—Threes were wild for the Scarlet Hawks (5-13, 2-8 NACC) on Saturday as Tech defeated the Cougars of Concordia-Chicago (4-15, 0-10 NACC) in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match. Tech won its third straight game in a row behind double-digit kills from three different Scarlet Hawks and a season-high 51 assists from Michael Ganczar.

Set Scores

  • Tech 3, CUC 1: 26-24, 18-25, 25-21, 25-15

How it Happened

  • The first set was very tight, needing more than 25 points to take home a victory. With CUC up 22-18 late, Tech stormed back and tied the game on an Andriy Bench kill at 23-23. After a Tech service error to give the Cougars the lead back, the Scarlet Hawks closed the set out with three straight points to take the first win.
  • In set two, the Cougars were able to build an early lead on the Scarlet Hawks, going up 10-5. Tech was never quite able to reel the hosts in as the match moved back to a tie.
  • Set three saw another early CUC advantage, but this time the Scarlet Hawks would quickly erase it. After going down 4-1 to start, the Scarlet Hawks went on a 4-0 run. Later, with Tech down 17-15, another 4-0 run highlighted by two Lukasz Kupiec kills put the Hawks in front for good. Bench iced the set with a kill to give Illinois Tech a 2-1 match advantage.
  • The fourth and final set was all Tech. With a .448 hit percentage, Tech rolled to an easy win behind its dominant offense.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

  • Kupiec (14 kills, 379%, seven digs, two block assists), Easton Kays (14 kills, .333%, four aces), and Bench (12 kills, eight digs, one solo block, six assisted blocks) each had double-digit kills.
  • Ganczar had 51 assists in the four sets and three block assists.
  • Evan Robeck had a monster game of six kills, a .500 hit percentage, and 8 solo blocks.
  • Derek Bostick tallied 16 digs to lead the team.

Stats to Know

  • The Scarlet Hawks put on a blocking clinic on Saturday, recording three solo and 20 assisted blocks.
  • Tech aced seven serves to help overcome its 19 errors from behind the line.
  • The Scarlet Hawks outhit the Cougars .260% to .074% and recorded 55 kills compared to CUC’s 32.

Up Next

  • Tech will play on Friday, March 22 at home against MSOE at 7 p.m. for another NACC match. Live audio, video, and stats will be available, with live audio powered by Illinois Media School.
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