FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's volleyball team defeated No. 23-ranked Madonna in four sets (25-20, 28-26, 21-25, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon inside the Schaefer Center in Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) action. It is the Warriors first win over Madonna since November 11, 2011 and their first win over a ranked opponent since Nov. 26, 2012, when they defeated No. 11-ranked Georgetown College.
 
The Warriors came out of the gates firing with a 4-0 run, but the Crusaders answered back with a 7-2 spurt to take the lead. The rest of the set would be tightly contested as neither side could get ahead by more than two points until Tech used another 4-0 run to make it a 23-18 advantage. Madonna reached the 20-point plateau and staved off one set point, but Jordan Aylward gave the hosts the 1-0 lead with a kill to end the set.
 
The second set was a knock-down-drag-out affair with 17 ties and five lead changed in addition to free volleyball. Madonna grabbed the momentum with an 8-1 lead to give the visitors a 21-17 lead, but Tech staved off three set points and used back-to-back-to-back kills from Courtney Mack to take the set, 28-26, and grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Crusaders jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the third, but a 7-0 run from Tech, highlighted by a pair of aces from Madysn Cardinal, gave the Orange and Black a 10-8 lead. The Warriors increased their advantage to 17-13, but Madonna used a 7-1 spurt to go ahead 20-18 and eventually win the set, 25-21 to make the match 2-1.
 
The fourth set was another highly contested battle, with eight ties and five lead changes. Tech finally grabbed the momentum with a 6-1 run to take a 22-17 lead. The Crusaders cut the deficit to four points, but the Warriors came right back with two straight points to take the set and match.
 
Olivia Niekamp had 13 kills to lead the Warriors while Aubree Eggers, Mack and Erika Foy also reached double-digit figures with 11, 11 and 10, respectively. Eggers hit a team-high .526 while Foy had a .370 hitting percentage. Autumn Stokes and Madison Park had 24 and 22 assists, respectively, with Park notching 19 digs for the double-double.
 
Tech (10-7, 4-3 WHAC) returns to action Wednesday as they host Concordia University to end a three-match homestand. First serve is set for 7 p.m. from the Schaefer Center.