CHICAGO – The MSOE men's volleyball team traveled down to the Windy City Saturday afternoon for a conference clash with Illinois Institute of Technology and a non-conference matchup with Wabash College. The Raiders suffered their first conference loss of the season at the hands of the Scarlet Hawks but bounced back to sweep the Little Giants.

RESULTS
MSOE RAIDERS – 0
Illinois Tech – 3

MSOE RAIDERS – 3
Wabash - 0

HOW IT HAPPENED

• vs. Illinois Tech
  • Illinois Tech (7-9, 4-1 NACC) wasn't afraid to come out of the gates firing, going up 8-2 to begin the match. After MSOE (6-9, 4-1 NACC) could only get the deficit to within four late 16-12, the Scarlet Hawks pulled away convincingly, taking the first set 25-15.
  • Things were neck and neck to start the second set until after the score was tied at 11, the Scarlet Hawks went on a 4-0 run that closed with three-straight service aces to take a 15-11 lead. The Raiders stormed back to take a 20-18 advantage before forcing the set to be played past the 25-point mark, but the Scarlet Hawks only needed one more to take it 26-24.
  • Scarlet Hawk miscues and a kill from Tommy Clausz gave the Raiders the early edge in set three before the Scarlet Hawks took a 7-5 lead. The Raiders tied it up late at 19 after a kill from Callan Harris and had set point twice but couldn't continue the match as the Scarlet Hawks took the final set 27-25.
  • Harris led the Raiders and tied a match high with 16 kills while Seth Thomas was the only other Raider with double-digit kills with 10. Parker Rings led with 31 assists, while James Zippay added a pair and Thomas added one. Clausz and Harris each contributed a service ace, while the two and Matthew Schultz eached added a pair of blocks at the net.
• vs. Wabash
  • The Raiders took the first crack at having the advantage after Schultz and Quinn Kozak each connected on kills to lead 6-3 early. Wabash (12-5, 1-1 MCVL) came back to take a 9-8 lead before Gregory Kubon found a rhythm to give the Red & White a 19-17 lead late. As the Little Giants continued to make the set close, Rings and Schultz ended the first set combining for a block to win 25-22.
  • The Little Giants struggled to make the ball land inbounds and let the Raiders take a 10-5 lead to begin the second set. Things continued to go south for them as the Raiders made it a 17-6 advantage before John Wolf ended the set for a convincing 25-13 set two win.
  • The offensive errors flipped team in the third set as the Little Giants took a 6-3 early before the Raiders came back to take the lead 15-14 after a kill from James Zippay. Things continued to be tightly contested with the Little Giants holding the small advantage until Wolf and Kozak combined for a block to take a 23-22 lead. With the Raiders looking to end it, Zippay answered the call to slam it home to take the third set 27-25.
  • Zippay and Kubon led the Raiders with eight kills each while Kozak had seven. Rings added 25 assists while Zippay and Jackson Phillips each added a pair. Kubon was a killer at the service line, totaling five service aces, meanwhile Schultz was a force at the net having four blocks.

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will return back home on Tuesday, March 11^th, when they host Edgewood College at 7:00 PM inside the Kern Center.

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