GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Indiana Tech women's volleyball team fell to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) rival Aquinas College, 3-2, (18-25, 28-26, 24-26, 25-18, 8-15) on Saturday afternoon inside the Sturrus Sports and Fitness Center.
 
The Saints jumped ahead of the Warriors, 7-2, in the first set, forcing the visitors to call a timeout early in the set. Aquinas continued to build their lead with strong play on both sides of the net, holding Tech to just seven kills in 35 attempts while recording four service aces and made it a 22-13 lead before cooling off a late Tech rally to take the first set, 25-18.
 
The second set was a back and forth barnburner that featured 16 ties and eight lead changes as it went to free volleyball. A 4-0 run from Tech that included two kills from Calista Helinski gave the Orange and Black a 12-9 lead, the largest advantage either side had during the set, but Aquinas battled back to go up 22-19. The Warriors rattled off three consecutive points to knot the set up at 22-22 before exchanging points with the Saints for the next nine serves, but back-to-back kills from Emma Westra gave the visitors the 28-26 win to knot the set up at 1-1.
 
The third set would be another tight exchange with 10 ties and three lead changes. Tech started off the set on a 6-2 spurt, including four straight points, but the Saints battled back to take a 14-13 lead. Trailing 23-20, Jordan Aylward powered the Warriors to three straight points with back-to-back kills and eventually tied the match at 24, but Aquinas was able to rattle off two quick points to win the third set, 26-24, and go up 2-1.
 
The Warriors started the fourth set on an 11-1 run and never looked back as they lead from opening serve to set point. A 9-0 run powered the early success while Tech grew their advantage to as much as 11 points at 18-7. Aquinas made the set interesting as they closed the gap to 23-17, but Tech squashed any hope of a rally to knot it up at 2-2 with the 25-18 win.
 
The first 10 serves of the fifth set saw the two sides back to square one as they were knotted up at 5-5, but a 4-0 run from the hosts got the momentum on their side as they closed out the match on a 10-3 run to win 15-8 and take the match 3-2.
 
Helinski led the team with 14 kills while Aylward added 12. Havilyn Cummings and Westra each recorded nine kills with the former hitting .375. Madison Park dished out 24 assists and had 13 assists for the double-double while Madysn Cardinal had 24 digs.
 
Tech (10-4, 2-2 WHAC) returns home on Wednesday, September 25 as they welcome in Siena Heights University to the Schaefer Center. First serve is set for 7 p.m.