FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's volleyball team fell to No. 16-ranked Madonna in three sets (25-19, 25-13, 25-16), on Saturday afternoon in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) play at the Schaefer Center.
 
The two sides would battle back and forth through the early portion of the first set before the Crusaders would utilize a 9-0 run to jump ahead 12-5. A short 3-0 burst from the Warriors helped put them to within four of their opponents before Madonna would find themselves with the 19-12 advantage. Tech would fight back with a 4-0 run marked by strong offense, to come within three. Madonna would go on to not drop their first set lead and take the 25-19 decision.
 
Another close battle ensued early in set two, but it would again be the Crusaders that would find themselves on a quick run, racing ahead 14-5. The Warriors would respond with a 6-1 rally to cut Madonna's lead to seven, but their visitors would close out the set on a 5-0 run to take the 25-13 set victory. 
 
The third set would see Tech keeping pace with Madonna, down 11-8 through the first 19 points, but as they had done through the first two sets, the Crusaders would find themselves on a run to distance themselves by an 18-9 score. The Orange and Black put together a 4-0 run that was kicked off by an Olivia Niekamp kill, but it would not be enough to stop Madonna, as they went on to complete the three set sweep with the 25-16 final set score.
 
Aubree Eggers recorded a team-high four kills while Karli Jones dished out 10 assists. Madeline MacDonald led both sides in digs with 20.
 
Tech (14-19, 5-8 WHAC) returns to action Wednesday as they travel to Lima, Ohio for a WHAC match-up with the University of Northwestern Ohio in their final game of the 2017 regular season. First serve is set for 7 p.m. in Racer Gymnasium.