OSKALOOSA, Iowa – The Indiana Tech men's volleyball team dropped a pair of hard-fought marathon matches Saturday afternoon at the William Penn Quadrangular inside the Penn Activity Center, falling 3-2 to Viterbo University (31-29, 19-25, 25-17, 22-25, 8-15) and 3-0 to William Penn (29-27, 28-26, 25-17).
Cameron Ternent had a career-high 15 kills and career-best 11 digs for his first career double-double against Viterbo while
Joey Hermes had 10 kills and 16 digs for his first career double-double as well.
Mason Milan flirted with a triple-double as he recorded nine kills, 10 assists and 15 digs to go along with three blocks.
Chandler Davis dished out 36 assists while
Jason Miller had 11 digs.
In the longest set (by points) of the modern era for the Warriors that saw 11 extra points played and five set points fought off by both teams, Tech came away with the thrilling 31-29 win to being their second day of action in the great state of Iowa. With Viterbo leading 28-27, the Warriors took four of the next five points to take the lead after trailing by as many as four points early in the set. A 13-6 hole was too much to overcome in the second though, as the V-Hawks controlled the set to win 25-19 and tie the match up at 1-1.
A sizzling .379 hitting percentage led the way for the Warriors in the third set, as 15 kills on 29 swings was coupled with a 10-1 run that put Tech up 15-6 and they would not look back after that to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Trailing 20-15 in the fourth, Tech came with two points after a 4-1 run, but the V-Hawks responded with a 3-0 spurt to force set points. The Orange and Black fought off the next three set points though, to put the pressure on Viterbo, but they could not overcome the hold as the V-Hawks forced a decisive fifth set.
A 5-0 run from Viterbo gave them the momentum early in the fifth and they gradually increased their lead to 12-6. Tech staved off one match points at 14-8, but it not be enough to change the momentum as Viterbo took the match 3-2.
Milan added 11 more kills and 16 digs against William Penn while Ternent had 11 kills and five digs. Davis tallied 32 assists and six digs while Miller had 10 digs.
In an almost déjà vu setting like their opening game against Viterbo, Tech and William Penn saw six points of free volleyball and three set points fought off. Trailing 25-24 and seeing the Statesman win five of the last seven serves, the Warriors fought off defeat with two straight points, but could not put the hosts away as they eventually came back to win 29-27.
Tech began the second leading 7-3, but WPU rattled off a 9-0 run to go ahead 12-7. A 5-0 spurt from the Warriors knotted the set back up at 16-all, setting the scene for another overtime session. The Warriors staved off three set points in crucial situations late, but the Statesman proved too strong again as they went up 2-0 in the match with the 28-26 win.
The third set was all Statesman from the beginning thanks to an 11-4 run that included 6-0 and 4-0 spurts along the way. Tech battled back and cut the deficit down to 14-9 and later at 21-16, but they could not hold on to the momentum as WPU closed out the set on a 4-1 run to complete the sweep.
Tech (4-9) returns to action on Wednesday, February 12 as they return to conference action against Siena Heights University. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Siena Heights Fieldhouse.
