Men’s volleyball team defeated by Illinois Tech in four sets

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's volleyball team was defeated by Illinois Institute of Technology in a four-set match tonight at the Cutler Event Center in Olivet.

THE BASICS
Final Score: Illinois Tech def. Olivet 25-17, 22-25, 25-12, 25-15
Location: Cutler Event Center; Olivet, Mich.
Records: Olivet 6-15 overall, Illinois Tech 11-15 overall

HOW IT HAPPENED

• In the first set, neither team led by more than two points until the Scarlet Hawks went ahead 11-8. The teams traded the next four points until Illinois Tech used a 3-0 run to go up by five points, 15-10. Olivet was never able to recover from that deficit. For the set, the Scarlet Hawks had 14 kills and posted a .565 attack percentage.
• In the second set, Illinois Tech led 5-4 before the Comets went on a 3-0 run to take a 7-5 lead. Olivet did not give up the lead for the rest of the set, leading by as many as seven points, 16-9. The Scarlet Hawks closed the gap to two points, 24-22. A kill by sophomore Trent Robinson ended the set in the Comets' favor.
• Illinois Tech led the third set from start-to-finish.
• Olivet scored the first point of the fourth set. The Scarlet Hawks scored the next two points but the Comets tied the set at 2-2. Illinois Tech answered with a 4-0 run for a 6-2 lead. Illinois Tech did not relinquish its advantage for the rest of the set.

FOR THE COMETS

• Robinson finished with a team-leading seven kills, followed by sophomore Logan Blough with six kills.
• Sophomore Brock Pringle and senior Rhett Pringle each had five kills.
• Freshman libero Tanner Gardenour tallied a match-high 10 digs.
• Sophomore Aaron Giorgi recorded 25 set assists.

FOR THE SCARLET HAWKS

• Cinjun Coe and Lukasz Kupiec combined for 30 of the 45 Illinois Tech kills, with 16 and 14 respectively.
• Ben Peschl and Daniel Thoorp split time at the setter position, collecting 20 and 19 assists, respectively.
• Kupiec registered a team-high eight digs.

UP NEXT

• The Comets are off until next Friday, April 5, when they play at Adrian College. First serve is set for 7 p.m.