MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The Indiana Tech volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Saturday at the Bethel (Ind.) College Invitational.
 
For the second time in as many days, the Warriors found themselves on the wrong end of a five setter, losing 19-25, 25-18, 25-12, 22-25, 11-15 to the host Pilots in the nightcap.
 
After winning the second and third sets, Tech found itself tied at nine in the fourth, but an 8-2 run by the Pilots forced the Orange and Black to call a timeout. After three straight points coming out of the timeout, including two kills by junior outside hitter Jazmin Alexander, the hosts were forced to call time.
 
A couple of kills from freshman middle hitter Gabby Staggs brought the Warriors to within two at 19-17, forcing another Bethel timeout. Tech closed the gap to one at 20-19, 22-21 and 22-21, but the Pilots would hold on the force the decisive fifth set.
 
The hosts would control the final set early, marching out to a 7-3 lead and forcing head coach Kourtney Wilson to call a timeout. After trading points for the next six serves, Wilson called her final timeout to try and regain the momentum.
 
It would prove too little however, as the Pilots quickly moved to match point. Kills from junior outside hitter Cassie Sarabia and Staggs gave the Warriors life, forcing Bethel to call timeout. Another kill from Sarabia brought Tech to 14-11 before the hosts closed the door.
 
Sarabia ended up with 13 kills while hitting at a .050 clip. Alexander also notched double digit kills with ten. Junior libero Taylor Kelso collected 31 digs while dishing out six assists. Sophomore Karli Jones and freshman Mara Zell led the Warriors in assists with 17 apiece.
 
In their first match of the day, the Warriors were swept by Doane (Neb.) College (25-13, 25-19, 25-15). Tech grabbed an early 1-0, but the Tigers grabbed seven of the next eight points and took control of the first set. Trailing 15-6, the Warriors rattled off three straight points thanks to attack errors by the Tigers, by the "home" team regained the momentum and only let Tech score four more points.
 
Much like the first set, the second saw the Orange and Black trade points early before watching the Tigers seven point run to take a 11-4 lead. Four quick points thanks to more Tigers errors saw Tech close the gap to 11-8.
 
Doane pushed its lead to 17-11, forcing Wilson to call a timeout to regroup her Warriors squad. An ace from Taylor Kelso and a kill from Staggs saw Tech close the gap to 19-15, but that was as close as the Warriors would get as they went down 2-0.
 
A 7-1 start from the Tigers quickly put the Warriors in a deep hole from which they could not recover. An ace from senior outside hitter Katelyn St. Martin and a Tigers error closed the gap to 13-10, but Doane recovered quickly and rattled off four quick points to build an insurmountable lead.   
 
Sarabia led the Warriors with 13 kills and three errors, while Alexander added 10 kills. Jones and Zell notched 17 assists each while combining for 13 digs and four aces.
 
The losses drop Tech to 0-4 on the young season. The Warriors will look for their first win next weekend when they take part in the Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) Volleyball Classic in Columbia, Kentucky. The Orange and Black will battle Campbellsville (Ky.) first on Thursday, with first serve set for 4 p.m.