CHICAGO, Ill. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College opened its final week of the 2024 season with a 3-0 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference sweep to Illinois Tech on Wednesday at Keating Sports Center.
The Warriors (4-19, 1-10 NACC) fell to the Scarlet Hawks (10-14, 6-5 NACC) by scores of 25-12, 25-15, 25-20. WLC hit .024 on 22 kills, 20 errors, and 84 attempts. IIT hit .323 on 30 kills, nine errors, and 65 attempts.
Wisconsin Lutheran scored the first point of the opening set for its first and only lead, before Illinois Tech answered with an 8-1 scoring run to force a timeout. The Warriors came within five points at 11-6, but another 7-0 run by the Scarlet Hawks put them in front by 12. IIT took the first set by a score of 25-12.
WLC led 3-2 early in a back-and-forth beginning to the second set. Illinois Tech used a 5-0 spurt to take back the lead for good. Another 7-2 surge sent the Scarlet Hawks' advantage to double-digits for the first time at 17-7, the same margin of the second set final score of 25-15.
IIT answered Wisconsin Lutheran's first point of the third set with five straight of its own. The Warriors trailed by as many as eight points at 16-8, but closed to within three points twice, including 19-16. Illinois Tech tallied the next four points to extend its lead to seven before holding on for the 25-20 win.
Sophomore
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) led WLC with seven kills. Junior
Jay Thammavongsa (Franklin, Wis.) collected nine assists. Junior
James Biedenbender (La Crosse, Wis.) and sophomore
Trevor Salutric (Lockport, Ill.) had five digs apiece.
Riley Laite led the Scarlet Hawks with nine kills and three service aces, while Eli Sherman recorded 22 assists.
Wisconsin Lutheran travels to Lisle, Illinois on Saturday for its final match of the season against Benedictine (14-9, 9-2 NACC) at 1 p.m. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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