FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's volleyball team fell to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) rival Lourdes, 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16), on Friday evening at the Schaefer Center.
The Gray Wolves would jump out to a 6-2 lead in the first set, with three service aces in that frame, but the Warriors would battle back with a 4-0 run to tie the set at six. After trading the next four points, the visitors would rip off five straight points while going on an 11-2 run to take control of the set and go up 1-0 in the match.
Tech would have the upper hand in the early portion of the second, racing out to an 8-4 lead, but the Gray Wolves would strike back with a 5-1 run to tie the game at nine. Trailing 13-12, the Warriors would use a 5-0 spurt and a 10-3 run to go up 22-16. Lourdes would battle back with five straight points to cut the deficit to 22-21, but the hosts would take three of the next five points to close out the set and tie the match at 1-1.
The Warriors would open the third with four straight points and use an 8-4 run to take the early lead, but the Gray Wolves would go on a 9-0 spurt to take the momentum and the lead. Lourdes would take a 22-17 lead and appeared ready to retake the match lead, but the Warriors would go on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to one, but the visitors closed out the set with three straight points to take a 2-1 lead.
The two teams would trade the lead through the first 10 points of the fourth, but the defending WHAC champs would go on a 4-0 spurt, only to see Tech three straight points to tie the set back up at 8-8. A 6-0 run from the Gray Wolves though, would spark a 15-6 spurt as the visitors closed out the match with the 3-1 win.
Olivia Niekamp and
Allison Cole led the Warriors with 12 and 10 kills, respectively, with the latter hitting a team-best .261 and collecting three blocks.
Autumn Stokes dished out 20 assists and 12 digs for the double-double while
Madeline MacDonald had 29 digs.
Tech (7-10, 1-4 WHAC) returns to action on Wednesday, September 27 as they travel to Madonna for a WHAC East Division matchup. First serve is set for 7 p.m. from the Madonna Activities Center.
