Women’s Volleyball Splits Day One at USCAA Championships

November 11, 2016Posted in: Athletics

volleyballThe Illinois Tech Women’s Volleyball team competed in two best-of-three matches on November 10 at the USCAA National Championships. The sixth-seeded Scarlet Hawks defeated #10 NHTI 2-0 before falling against #2 Florida College 2-0.

Scores – NHTI Match

  • Set one: Illinois Tech 25, NHTI 14 
  • Set two: Illinois Tech 25, NHTI 20

How it Happened – NHTI match

  • After trailing 3-1 early, the Scarlet Hawks found a second gear. Illinois Tech went on an 8-0  run highlighted by three Irena Grauzinis kills and three Courtney Curcio service aces to build a 9-3 lead.
  • After an NHTI point, the Scarlet Hawks went on another run, this time 7-0. With a 16-4 advantage, Illinois Tech comfortably held strong the rest of the way, winning 25-14 on another Grauzinis kill.
  • In the second set, the Scarlet Hawks went up 8-3 behind kills from three different players and some NHTI attack errors. The lead later increased to 14-5 on a Katherine McCutcheon kill.
  • NHTI would not give up without a fight, going on a 12-3 run to tie the score at 18-18. With the score tied at 20-20, two NHTI attack errors and a Jelena Vujicic kill put Illinois Tech ahead for good. A McCutcheon kill for the 25th point gave Illinois Tech a 25-21 win.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts – NHTI match

  • Grauzinis continued her impressive season with seven kills and a .583 hitting percentage. She also tied for the team lead in digs with four.
  • Vujicic (.429%), Taylor Burton (.250%), and McCutcheon (.125%) each added four kills.
  • Courtney Darling led the way with 18 assists while also contributing two service aces.
  • Curcio led the team in aces (three) and tied for the lead in digs (four).

Stats to Know – NHTI match

  • The Scarlet Hawks outhit NHTI .260% to .073% while winning the kills tally 22-14.
  • Illinois Tech had six aces compared to NHTI’s four.
  • Illinois Tech’s 22 assists outdid NHTI’s 14.

Scores – Florida College match

  • Set one: Florida College 25, Illinois Tech 23
  • Set two: Florida College 25, Illinois Tech 10

How it Happened – Florida College match

  • The Scarlet Hawks built an early advantage in the first set, leading by three at one point. Alyssa Miner totaled three kills early on in the set.
  • However, the Falcons of Florida College would respond, rattling off five straight points to take a 16-14 lead. Illinois Tech fought back to tie the score at 23, but two errors to close things out resulted in a Falcon win.
  • In set two, the teams traded the first six points. After the 3-3 tie, Florida College went on a 6-1 run to build a 9-4 advantage.
  • A 7-0 run to build a 16-5 lead would give the Falcons a comfortable lead, which the team used to cruise to a 25-10 set two and match win.

Scarlet Hawk Standouts – Florida College match

  • Burton led the Scarlet Hawks with six kills while also tallying two block assists.
  • Grauzinis and Miner each tallied five kills.
  • Darling added 12 assists.
  • McCutcheon led the team with three blocks.
  • Reya Green led Illinois Tech with 13 digs.

Stats to Know – Florida College match

  • Illinois Tech was outhit .353% to .155% by Florida College, including a large .462% to .031% disparity in the second set.
  • The Falcons had 34 digs compared to Illinois Tech’s 25.
  • The Scarlet Hawks had just one service ace in the match (Cassie Hansen). FC tallied six.

Up Next

  • The Scarlet Hawks will play two more matches in pool play on Friday, November 11 taking on #3 Alfred State College at 9 a.m. before opposing #7 Carlow University at noon. If the Scarlet Hawks are one of the top four teams in Pool B, Illinois Tech will play a five-set quarterfinal match at either 3 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. Live stats and video links courtesy of the USCAA are scheduled to be available.
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