LIVONIA, Mich. – The Indiana Tech women's volleyball team fell to Madonna University in five sets (25-17, 18-25, 17-25, 25-19, 14-16) on Saturday afternoon at the Activities Center in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action.
 
Four Warriors, Aubree Eggers, Havilyn Cummings, Courtney Mack and Jordan Aylward, recorded 10 kills in the match with Cummings hitting a team-high .304 and Eggers and Aylward notching eight blocks each. Autumn Stokes dished out 25 assists and had 12 digs for the double-double while Madeline MacDonald had 21 digs.
 
Tech came out of the gates strong thanks to a 10-3 run to begin the match. The lead blossomed to a 16-6 advantage to force the Crusaders to use their second timeout of the set. Madonna used a 7-2 run to cut the deficit down to 24-17 and fought off three set points, but Calista Helinski closed out the set with a kill to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
 
The Warriors were fueled by another strong start to begin the second as they got out to a 12-7 lead thanks to a 7-1 run. A 7-0 spurt from the hosts gave them a 14-12 lead however that would grow into a 22-14 lead for the Crusaders following a 6-0 run. Madonna would close out the set to even the match at 1-1.
 
Set three saw the Crusaders race out to a 10-4 lead before going on a 4-0 run to make it 14-4. Trailing 23-14 Tech won the next three points to make it a seven-point set, but Madonna erased any chances of a comeback by taking the next two points and going up 2-1 in the match.
 
The Warriors regained the stride in the fourth set by getting out to an 11-3 advantage out of the first serve. The Orange and Black continued to build onto their lead as they lead 21-12, but a 4-0 run from the Crusaders forced Tech to call a timeout and regroup. The Warriors rebounded to close out the set 25-19 and force a decisive fifth set.
 
Tech jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fifth following a 4-0 run, but Madonna came right back with a 6-0 spurt to take an 11-7 advantage. Trailing 14-12, the Warriors fought off two match points to tie the set up at 14-all, but a service error gave the Crusaders the momentum back to close out the match on the next point for the 16-14 win.
 
Tech (16-13, 6-9 WHAC) returns to action Wednesday as they start a three-game homestand by hosting Siena Heights University. First serve is set for 7 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.