MISHAWAKA, Ind. – The Indiana Tech women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches Friday afternoon on the first day of the Liz Hossler Labor Day Classic, falling to No. 24-ranked Indiana University Kokomo (24-26, 25-15, 21-25, 20-25) and Grace College (22-25, 18-25, 32-30, 18-25) by 3-1 decisions inside the Wiekamp Athletics Center.
Noelle VanOort had 19 kills with a .271 hitting percentage while adding seven digs and three service aces against IU Kokomo.
Havilyn Cummings,
Taylor Paul and
Madelyn Omo all had eight assists with Omo hitting .438. Kelsey Schladenbrand had a career high 40 assists while
Jacey Blust had 21 digs.
The two sides were even through 12 points, but a 10-3 run from the Cougars put them up 15-9 in the first set. Tech cut the deficit down to three at multiple points and used a 5-1 spurt to make it a 23-21 game. The Warriors then fought off three set points to knot it up at 24 and force IU Kokomo to call a timeout, but the Cougars won the next two points to take the match lead. A 9-0 run from the Warriors put them up 11-5 in the second. Tech grew their lead to 17-8 and cruised to the 25-15 win to tie the match up at 1-1.
The two teams locked horns in the third with seven ties and four lead changes, with the last of them coming with the 22
nd serve of the game. After Tech tied it up at 11, the Cougars won four of the next five serves and never lost the lead as they went up 2-1 with the 25-21 win. The Cougars raced out to an 8-4 lead in the fourth to force a timeout from the Warriors. Tech rallied back with a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 13-12, only to see the Cougars go up 19-14. The Warriors battled back to make it a 19-18 game, but the Cougars held on to the lead and finished out the match with the 25-20 victory.
Paul led the Warrior offense against Grace with 15 kills while
Emma Westra had eight kills.
Andrea Schriver had 22 assists while Schladenbrand had 15 assists and 10 digs. Blust recorded 23 digs.
The two teams traded runs early in the first until a 6-0 run from the Lancers put them up 17-14. Tech cut the deficit to 18-17, but Grace pushed ahead to lead 24-19. The Orange and Black fought off three set points but could not overcome the deficit as the Lancers took the opening set. Tech would get out to a 10-7 lead in the second, but a 6-1 run from the Grace put them up 13-11. The Lancers continued to extend their advantage and made it a 2-0 match with the 25-18 lead.
A marathon third set featured 21 ties and 9 lead changes as the two sides battled it out. Tech led 24-23, but couldn't close the door thanks to two straight points from the Lancers. The teams traded runs and points over the next 10 serves, but a service error from Grace gave way for the Warriors to rattle off three straight points to win 32-30 and make it a 2-1 match. The momentum swung back to the Lancers in the fourth though as they got out to an 11-3 lead. Grace grew their advantage to 22-12 and while the Warriors fought hard, they could not stop the Lancers attack as they dropped their second match of the day.
Tech (2-4) wraps up play at the Liz Hossler Labor Day Classic Saturday with matches against Bethel University and the University of Saint Francis (Ill.) at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., respectively, inside the Wiekamp Athletics Center.
