FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech volleyball team won back-to-back sets, but their comeback bid fell short in a five set, 3-2, loss to No. 9 Madonna. The Crusaders move to 21-3 overall and 9-1 in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play, while the Warriors fall to 9-8 this season and 4-5 in conference action.
Tech fell behind early in the opening set as the Crusaders won 11 of the first 15 points to take an 11-4 lead. After trading several points, the Warriors used a five-point run to make it 22-15, but Madonna won three of the next five points for the win. The Crusaders hit .281 (45-19-32) in the set while the Warriors struggled offensively, hitting just .054 (10-8-37).
Madonna took the first two points of game two, but back-to-back kills by
Emileen Palka and
Christine Foest tied the game at 2. Tech got to within one point again at 5-4, but the Crusaders took over after that, winning seven of the next eight points to take a 12-6 lead, eventually winning the set 25-22. MU again outhit Tech, .212 (13-6-33) to .107 (10-7-28).
An emotional third set saw the Warriors gain new life. Tech won three of the first four points, to take a 3-1 lead, but Madonna answered with two points to tie the score, the first of 14 in the set. The Warriors scored seven of the next 10 points for a 10-6 lead, but again the Crusaders stormed back, scoring six of the next seven for their first lead, one of seven lead changes in the game. The game was again tied at 19 when MU scored four of six points to take a 23-21 lead, just two points from winning the match, but the Warriors didn't back down. A
Shanice Richards kill and a block assist by Richards and Foest knotted the game at 23. After trading points and tying six more times, a Richards' kill from
Karli Jones put Tech up 30-29 and a Crusaders error gave the home team the hard-fought, 31-29 victory.
The Warriors outhit the Crusaders for the first time in the match, hitting .191 (17-8-47) while holding MU to a .173 (20-11-52) mark.
The positive momentum continued for the Warriors in the fourth game. Tech tied the game three times (7, 9, 20) before finally taking the lead, 21-20. Tech took a two point lead, but Madonna answered with two points of their own to tie the score at 22. A Richards' kill made it 23-22, but a MU kill tied the score again.
Stacy Nagy registered a kill to make it 24-23 and a
Paige Doellman block sealed the Warriors win, tying the match at 2. Tech again outhit the visitors, registering a .140 (15-9-43) attack percentage while holding Madonna to a .000 (9-9-42) mark.
The Crusaders flexed their muscle in the final set, winning 12 of the final 15 points after being tied at three. Madonna hit .320 (10-2-25) in the final set while Tech hit .000 (4-4-28).
Richards and Nagy finished the contest with 13 kills to lead the team with the former hitting a team-high .233 (13-6-30).
Katelyn St. Martin added 12 kills while Foest and
Cassandra Sarabia each tallied eight. Jones led the Warriors with 26 assists with Palka adding 22.
On defense,
Taylor Kelso tallied a match-high 22 digs with St. Martin adding 14. Jones added 12 and
Elizabeth Mathews tallied 11 in the match. Both teams tallied 13 total blocks with four players registering one solo block and Richards leading the team with five block assists.
"I'm proud of our effort tonight," said Warriors Head Coach
Kourtney Wilson. "We showed a lot of heart, fight and determination that we need to carry throughout the rest of the season. The girls showed tonight that we have what it takes to play with the best in the NAIA."
The Warriors return to action tomorrow, Oct. 4 when they host Siena Heights at 1 p.m. It is a pink game for Tech with all proceeds being donated to the American Cancer Society and the "Making Strides" campaign to end breast cancer.
