FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Warrior volleyball program began its 2023 campaign on Friday, competing in the OnSet Tournament hosted by cross-town rivals, the University of Saint Francis, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. In game one, the Warriors faced Huntington University, where Tech lost 3-0 (18-25, 22-25, 20-25) to start their season. The Warriors took on IU South Bend in their second game on Friday, winning in three sets 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 26-24).
 
In game one, Huntington jumped to an early 9-3 lead forcing head coach Matt Fishman to use a timeout. Despite the timeout, Tech continued to struggle, trailing 15-8 before a kill from Taylor Paul jumpstarted a Tech run. The Warriors scored 7 straight to knot the game at 15 but came up short, falling 18-25 in the first set. Set two followed a similar pattern, with the Foresters taking an early 12-7. A pair of kills from Taylor Paul, a Noelle VanOort Ace, and kills from Westra and Allaway tied things up at 12. From there, it was a back-and-forth game, with Huntington coming out on top 25-22. Tech flipped the script to start set three, going up 9-3 highlighted by kills from Westra, VanOort, and Sorg, but the Foresters fought back to take their first lead by 11-10 and eventually took the match 25-20.
 
In Friday's second game, the Warriors bounced back to win 3-0 over Indiana University South Bend. There was little that separated the two teams in set one. Tech took the lead early and was reluctant to give it up until IUSB broke through, going up 23-22. Noelle VanOort had a huge kill to tie the game at 23 and followed it up with an ace to put the Warriors back on top. Taylor Paul put set one to bed with a kill to win 25-23. Set two was another close one with four ties and three lead changes, but the Warriors finished on a 3-0 run to seal a set two win. Set three was a duplicate of the previous two sets. With the Warriors trailing 23-22, Emma Westra had a crucial kill to draw things level and start the Warrior's 3-0 run to win 26-24.
 
Emma Westra led the Warriors in kills with 25 on the day, Andrea Schriver had 56 assists, Noelle VanOort had 4 aces, and Jacey Blust led the Warriors with 28 digs.
 
Tech finishes the OnSet tournament on Saturday, facing West Virginia Tech at 9:00 AM and Marian University at 3:30 PM.