INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Tech women's volleyball team opened up the 2021 season Friday afternoon at the Knight Invitational on the campus of Marian University. The Warriors fell to No. 24-ranked Indiana University Kokomo in their opening match 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 16-25, 17-25) before sweeping Kentucky Christian University (25-16, 25-19, 25-18) in the nightcap inside the Physical Education Center.
 
Noelle VanOort and Emma Westra each recorded 13 kills against IU Kokomo while the former added 16 digs. Havilyn Cummings had a match-best five blocks to go along with seven kills and a .286 attack percentage. Jacey Blust recorded 26 digs and Kelsey Schaldenbrand had 15 digs to go along with 28 assists.
 
Tech led off the match with a 15-5 run and held off a late charge from the Cougars to take the opening set, but IU Kokomo got off to a hot start in the second with a 9-3 run. IU Kokomo grew their advantage to 17-10 and while the Warriors fought back to make it a one-point set, could not pull off the comeback as the Cougars knotted the match up at 1-1.
 
The Cougars showed their dominance in the third with a 13-6 run to kick things off and grew the lead to 18-9 as they cruised to the easy win to go ahead 2-1. Tech started off the fourth on an 8-4 run, but a 7-1 run from IU Kokomo put them up 11-9. The Orange and Black tied the match up at 15-15, but a 9-1 run put the Cougars in the drivers seat as they completed the come-from-behind win with a 3-1 victory.
 
Schladenbrand dished out 22 assists against Kentucky Christian while Blust had 17 digs. Madelyn Omo led the Warriors with nine kills and three blocks with a .412 hitting percentage while VanOort and Westra notched eight and seven kills, respectively. Cummings hit a blistering .750 with six kills.
 
After getting out to a 12-10 lead in the first set, Tech used an 8-1 run to grab the momentum and take the early lead against the Knights. Kentucky Christian started off the second on a 5-1 run, but the Warriors battled back with a 6-1 run to go up 7-6. The two sides battled throughout the rest of the set, but Tech closed out the set on a 9-2 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. A 6-1 run from the Warriors put them up 18-11 and appeared to put the nail in the coffin for the Knights, but a 5-0 run from Kentucky Christian made it a 22-18 set. Tech quickly rebound and took the last three points to complete the sweep.
 
Tech (1-1) wraps up action at the Knight Invitational Saturday as they take on Indiana University East and No. 16-ranked Marian. First serve is set for 1 and 3 p.m., respectively, from the Physical Education Center.