MARION, Ind. – The Indiana Tech volleyball team split in the final day of competition at the Indiana Wesleyan Invitational, defeating Taylor University in five sets, 26-28, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19, 15-8, in their opening match of the day before falling to the No. 23 ranked and host Indiana Wesleyan University, 14-25, 16-25, 25-13, 21-25 at Luckey Arena, finalizing a 2-2 finish in the tournament.
Cassie Sarabia was one of three Warriors with double-digit kills against the Trojans with a game-high 22, while
Gabby Staggs and
Paige Doellman finished with 13 and 10, respectively. Sarabia would also finish with 22 digs on the night behind teammate
Taylor Kelso who finished with 25. Karlie Jones dished out 27 assists in the contest while
Autumn Stokes followed, recording 22 of her own.
After a tight first set, ultimately taken by the Trojans, it didn't take long for the Warriors to fight back, stealing the second set with help from an early 6-0 run which Taylor could not find how to recover. The back and forth play continued after Taylor found themselves on a late run in the third set to take that game decision and a 2-1 match lead. That lead would be short lived as the Orange and Black stormed back from behind to take the final two sets and the match in comeback fashion.
Against the Wildcats, Sarabia again recorded a game-leading 13 kills and added 10 digs to her campaign, while Kelso finished ahead with a game high 21 digs of her own. Jones continued to lead her team, recording a game high 25 assists in the match.
Wesleyan (10-1) hit their stride early from the first serve, taking the first two sets for a commanding 2-0 lead. The Warriors would not go down without a fight, returning the favor and taking the third set 25-13. Despite a tightly contested fourth game, the Wildcats pushed to take the 25-21 advantage and the 3-1 match decision.
Tech (4-4) will be back in action Thursday, September 7 when they kick off their Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) schedule, as they host Lawrence Tech at the Schaefer Center at 7 p.m.
