CHICAGO, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University men's volleyball lost both matches as contenders of the Illinois Institute of Technology Triangular Saturday. The Tigers fell in straight sets to North Park followed by Illinois Tech.

First Match: North Park 3, Olivet Nazarene 0

The Tigers and Scarlet Hawks traded points to open the first set. A kill from Sterling Staranchuk from Hunter DeMello gave the Tigers their first lead of the contest, 5-4. IIT strung together a 6-0 run to jump out to a 10-5 advantage. ONU worked their way back and after a Jaiton Kamaunu kill followed by an error from Illinois Tech, Olivet found themselves within a point of the hosts. Once again, Tech responded taking seven of 10 points to hold the set-point. The Tigers held on forcing four set-points before succumbing 25-21.

North Park took the early 6-2 lead via a service ace, four kills and an error in the second set. Olivet answered with three consecutive points which included kills from James Ballance and Sterling Staranchuck to cut the deficit to one. Both sides traded points with North Park maintaining the slight advantage until a Jaiton Kamaunu kill tied up the set 15-15 and forced NPU into calling a timeout. The Tigers took their first lead of the match after Harvey registered the kill to set the score at 20-19. ONU held a set-point at 25-24 but could not close it out as NPU ended on a 4-1 run  

In the third set, North Park jumped out to a 14-7 lead early. The Tigers surged back with an 8-4 run of their own to trim the deficit 18-15 with kills registered to Ballance, Collier Kahaku Marquez, and Staranchuck. The Vikings completed the three-set-sweep ending the match on a 5-2 run to take it 25-20.

Second Match: Illinois Tech 3, Olivet Nazarene 0

Olivet Nazarene claimed set one for the first time this season. The Tigers came back from being down 3-0 early to tie up the score 7-7 after an impressive pancake dig from James Ballance. James Harvey gave ONU their first lead of the night by contributing a block and a kill to create a 9-8 lead. The Maple Leafs regained their advantage by way of a 5-1 run. Olivet chipped away to tie the set back up 18-18. The Tigers ended the set outscoring GC 7-5 down the stretch to take the 25-23 win.

ONU began the second set out in front leading 6-5. IIT reeled off an 11-3 run to take back the lead and did not look back. Both teams traded points but the Tigers could not find the run to get back the set and ultimately fell 25-17.

With the momentum in hand, Illinois Tech sprung out to an 8-3 lead. A kill from Max Slaughter ended a 7-3 run to make it only a one-point set at 11-10. Two last runs from the Scarlet Hawks end the match and completed the three-set sweep 25-17.

GAME VITALS

Records: Illinois Tech 3-2 (0-0 NACC) | North Park 5-1 (0-1 CCIW) | Olivet Nazarene: 0-12 (0-1 CCAC)

Location: Keating Sports Center | Illinois Institute of Technology | Chicago, Ill.

QUICK HITS

First Match

• Collier Kahaku Marquez held a game-high .636 hitting percentage that attributed to 8.5 points.
• Max Slaughter led the team with 9 points and 24 total attacks.
• Slaughter and Ballance combined for 15 digs in the match.
• Hunter DeMello and Garrett Schad carried the bulk of assists with 17 and 11 respectively.

Second Match

• Max Slaughter led the team with 10.5 points and 26 total attacks.

• James Ballance led the team with a .429 hitting percentage with 3 points.
• The Tigers out-attacked IIT 105-88 despite the loss.
• Dalen Mathews tallied a team-high 10 assists on the night.
• Jaiton Kamaunu led the team with seven digs in the contest.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Tigers will return home this Tuesday as they play host to No. 10 Saint Xavier on February 8. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m. CST. Please visit onutigers.com for the latest live links.

--ONU—

*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, pkaindl@olivet.edu