The Illinois Tech Women’s Volleyball team played host to future Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference opponent Dominican University on October 10. Despite strong comebacks in the first two sets and a third set victory, the Scarlet Hawks fell short to the Stars 3-1.

Scores

• DU 3, Illinois Tech 1 (23-25, 21-25, 25-18, 20-25)

How it Happened

• Dominican came out with its foot on the gas pedal, taking a 12-6 lead early on. However, the Scarlet Hawks would slowly chip away at Dominican, pulling to within in one at 22-21 on a Courtney Curcio service ace. The Stars regrouped, scoring three of the final five points to stave off the Hawks.
• In set two, Dominican had its best start of the evening, scoring seven of the first eight points. Just like in the first set, the Scarlet Hawks would work back into a match, this time with a 5-0 mid-set run and then a Leah van der Sanden kill to pull to within two at 19-17. Dominican, once again, closed out strong, pulling back ahead 24-18 before two Taylor Burton kills kept Illinois Tech alive. An Alex Kisten kill iced the set for the Stars.
• The Scarlet Hawks were not to be denied in the third set. Illinois Tech started the set on fire, scoring nine of the first 10 points. After DU pulled to within two at 13-11, the Scarlet Hawks went on another 9-1 run which featured four Sara Hassell kills. The hosts hung on and closed out the set with two Alyssa Miner kills.
• Set four was back-and-forth at the start before Dominican made the first substantial run: an 8-2 rally to take a 17-12 lead. The Stars held off Illinois Tech the remainder of the set to clinch the win.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts

• Hassell, the AD3I Student-Athlete of the Month for September, tallied a match-high 16 kills to go along with 10 digs and two block assists.
• Burton, AD3I’s latest Player of the Week, had 11 kills and a .269 hitting percentage.
• van der Sanden continued her strong play of late with seven kills and a .200 hitting percentage.
• Courtney Darling tallied a double-double of 18 kills and 10 digs.
• Curcio had a strong match in the back row, tallying 22 digs and three service aces.

Stats to Know

• Kills were nearly even (41-40 in favor of DU).
• Dominican out dug the Scarlet Hawks 70-62.
• Aces were even at 8-8.
• Dominican moved to 11-9 on the season, while Illinois Tech moved to 9-14.

Up Next

• The Scarlet Hawks will play host to Moody Bible Institute of Friday, October 13 at 7 p.m. Live audio, video, and stats will be available. The live audio will be powered by Illinois Media School.