FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The No. 7-ranked Indiana Tech men's volleyball team defeated No. 6-ranked University of Jamestown, 3-2 (18-25, 25-27, 25-22, 25-17, 15-13) Wednesday evening inside the Schaefer Center for their third straight win and second win against a top-10 ranked team this season.
Daynte Stewart had a game-high 20 kills to go along with 14 digs and four blocks while
Dante Siracusa had a career-best 17 kills to go along with a .314 hitting percentage.
Brandon Jones dished out a season-best 46 assists with six blocks and six digs while
Joey Hermes had 15 digs and nine assists.
Raekwon Rogers had a career-best 12 total blocks to go along with nine kills.
The two teams traded runs over the first 22 serves until a 9-1 run from the Jimmies pushed them to a 19-12 lead, powered by the swings of Samuel Jackman, Tanner Woods and Zack Meyer, with Jackman finishing the match with 15 kills and Woods recording 14. Tech could not recover from the run and dropped the opening set, just their fifth time all season they have not won the first set of a match and just the third set they had dropped on Kline Court.
Jamestown ran off five straight points after Tech opened the second on a 3-0 run, and the two teams continued to trade runs. With the visitors leading 19-16, the Warriors went on a 6-2 run to go up 22-21 and eventually got to set point twice, only to see the Jimmies come right back with a point. After fighting off the second set point Jamestown won the final two points to take the 2-0 match lead.
The two teams were deadlocked in a back-and-forth contest in the third until a 5-1 run pushed the hosts to a 21-16 advantage. The Jimmies responded with a 3-0 run to cut the deficit to 22-20, but the Warriors held strong to win 25-22 and cut the match deficit in half.
The momentum swung in the Warriors favor thanks to a 7-0 run that included back-to-back kills from
Mason Milan followed by four consecutive blocks from the Tech defenders, with Rogers playing a part in all four swats, as the hosts went up 16-10. Jamestown cut the deficit to 17-15, but a 7-1 run powered by Rodgers and Siracusa pushed Tech to a 24-16 lead as they knotted the match up at 2-2 to force a winner-take-all fifth set.
The energy in the Schaefer Center was electric all game with nine ties alone in the final set, with the last coming at 11-11 thanks to a double block by Stewart and Rogers that sparked a 3-0 run to put the Warriors up 13-11. As the two sides traded points and the Jimmies fighting off one match point,
Chase Christiansen sealed the deal with a solo block on a Jackman swing to call game, set and match for the hosts.
Tech (19-1) hits the road this weekend as they travel to Tusculum University for their second match of the year against an NCAA Division I/II opponent. First serve is et for 5 p.m. from Pioneer Arena in Greeneville, Tennessee.
