ELGIN, Ill. – The Indiana Tech men's volleyball team made it a clean sweep of the Eagle Classic hosted by Judson University over the weekend. In Friday's first game, the Orange and Black made quick work of Calvin University, winning 3-0 before a five-set thriller against Roosevelt University favored the Warriors 3-2 in their afternoon game. On Saturday, the Warriors downed the University of Olivet 3-1 in their first game before facing the hosts in their final match, where they defeated Judson 3-2. Tech improves to 11-1 on the season, sitting at 2-1 in conference play.
Against Calvin, the Warriors were dominant. In the first set, a 5-0 run in the early stages put the Orange and Black up by four. Tech maintained the advantage throughout the remained of the opening set before eventually claiming a 25-20 win. The second set was close through the early stages, but leading 10-9, the Warriors kicked things into gear as they closed the set on a 15-5 run to win 25-14. The third set echoed the first, but rather than a 5-0 run like the first set, the Warriors went on a 9-0 run in the early stages to establish a seven-point advantage. Once they had the momentum, they couldn't be stopped as they went on to win 25-10 and claim the match 3-0.
In their second match, the Warriors got off to a hot start in set one, taking a quick 8-2 lead. The Lakers fought back and cut the lead to one a couple of times, but the Warriors never trailed on their way to a 25-22 win in the first set. The second set followed a similar arc to the first; the Orange and Black took advantage of an early run, which set them up for success. The Lakers battled back and cut the lead to one but couldn't overcome Tech's early advantage as the Warriors held on to win 25-23. Sets three and four were tightly contested, but in the end, the Lakers were able to edge past the Warriors to draw level in the match. In the fifth set, tied 3-3, the Warriors took advantage of a Roosevelt service error to start a 4-0 run. With the set only going to 15, the lead was too much for the Lakers to overcome as the Orange and Black cruised to a 15-9 win.
In the match against Olivet, the Warriors won the race to 10 while on a 12-6 run to open the set. After trading some points, Tech found themselves up 15-13. A kill from
Austin Runyard was just the spark Tech needed to close the set on a 10-1 run, which included four straight service aces from
Peter Demoulin, to win 25-14. In the second set, the Warriors couldn't overcome a five-point lead as Olivet held on to win 25-22. Tech regained their footing in the third set, scoring five straight points to take a 5-0 lead. From there, it was pretty evenly matched, but the Warriors early lead led them to a 25-19 victory. In the fourth set, the Warriors kept a slight edge on Olivet, but with Tech up 12-9, Olivet went on a 10-1 run to take a 19-13 lead. The Warriors immediately responded with a 5-0 run to cut the lead to one. Shortly after, another 5-0 run for the Orange and Black would reestablish their advantage and lead them to a 25-22 win.
Against the hosts, the Warriors faced their toughest matchup of the weekend. In a close first set, both teams were lobbying for any real advantage. Unfortunately for the guests, they couldn't find any edge with the game tied at 24, as Judson ended with back-to-back kills to claim the opener. The second set was toe-to-toe right down to the wire. Trailing 13-14, a 6-0 run from the Warriors made it look like they would pull away, but a 4-0 response from the Eagles cut the lead to one. The hosts would regain the lead 23-22, but Tech closed the set with three straight points to win 25-23. The third set also favored the Warriors thanks to a 5-1 run midway through the set that gave the Warriors a six-point advantage they maintained to win 25-19. The fourth set was like the second, going down right to the wire, but the hosts were able to slip past Tech to win 25-22. In the fifth set, the Warriors edged past the Eagles thanks to a 5-1 run midway through the set, which put the guests up by three. Eventually, the Warriors would claim the match with a 15-12 win in the fifth set.
The Warriors return to conference action this weekend, traveling to Grand Rapids to take on Cornerstone University at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening.
