SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The No. 7-ranked Indiana Tech men's volleyball team defeated Lawrence Tech 3-1 (19-25, 25-21, 25-9, 26-24) Saturday afternoon inside the Don Ridler Field House.
Daynte Stewart had a match-high 22 kills with a .500 hitting percentage to go along with five digs.
Mason Milan added in nine kills and one service ace while
Chase Christiansen had a team best three blocks.
Brandon Jones notched 32 assists and 11 digs while
Joey Hermes added 10 digs.
The first set saw LTU get out to an early 6-1 lead before an error and kill by Milan would end the run before later cutting down the deficit to within only two at 15-13, which would be the closest the Warriors would get. A couple errors by the Warriors, an ace and a few kills would extend the Blue Devils lead and Tech dropping the first set 25-19.
The second set was another close one with LTU taking the first point on a kill, but the Warriors would then jump out to a 10-5 lead before the host would cut lead back down to within three after a kill and a service ace. The Warriors continued their lead by adding a pair of kills to extend the lead to 16-9 before a few errors would drop the lead back down to three at 23-20. The Orange and Black did not let this stop them, as they went on to claim the set 25-21 after a couple errors by LTU and a kill by Griffel.
The Warriors proved to be unstoppable in the third set, only allowing their opponents to score nine points. The Orange and Black jumped out to an early 15-4 advantage before the Blue Devils would score their remaining five points of the set by a few Warrior errors and a couple kills by the host. Despite a few errors by the Warriors, they continued their dominate performance winning the set 25-9.
The fourth set was similar to the first two, showing another tough battle for the Warriors. The set went back and forth, having five lead changes and 14 ties. LTU saw themselves with the advantage leading 15-11 before the Orange and Black would strike back with four straight points to make things even at 15 and forcing an LTU timeout. After the timeout, the Warriors scored two more points to take the lead 17-15, but once again the Blue Devils came back and tied things back up at 17 all and later taking the lead 19-18. The Orange and Black tied it up again and the teams would alternate points before finally the Warriors scored two in a row to win the set and the match.
The Warriors (13-0, WHAC 7-0) are back in action Tuesday (Feb. 15) at the Schaefer Center for a 7 p.m. start.
