GARY, Ind. — Indiana University Northwest volleyball swept Olivet Nazarene 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-20) on Tuesday night at the Savannah Center, handing the Tigers their second conference loss of the season. It marked the first time the RedHawks have beaten Olivet Nazarene in three sets, as IU Northwest improved to 15-7 overall and 10-4 in CCAC play on Dig Pink Night in support of the SideOut Foundation.
The opening set was tied at 10-10 before Gabi Lilovich took over. Serving, she helped ignite an 8-0 run that included a kill off a Raniyah Preston assist, a kill of her own, a Kaelan Murphy kill and a service ace to push the RedHawks to an 18-10 lead. Amie Schutz and Murphy kept the pressure on down the stretch, and Murphy closed the set with a kill off a Lilovich set for a 25-15 win.
Olivet Nazarene jumped out to an early lead in the second, but IU Northwest answered with one of its best stretches of the night. Preston went to the service line with the RedHawks trailing 7-5 and reeled off 10 straight points, with Lintner and Schutz combining for kills, a Preston service ace and a string of Olivet Nazarene attack errors, several off RedHawk blocks. The Tigers chipped away late, but Schutz put away kills off Lilovich sets down the stretch, and IU Northwest closed out the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set started slowly, with Olivet Nazarene jumping out to a 3-0 lead. The RedHawks responded with a Murphy kill and an Eva Everett service ace, and Preston followed with a string of points that included a service ace and blocks from Lilovich and Lintner to move IU Northwest ahead 11-7. Olivet Nazarene fought back to within a few points late, but Lilovich and Murphy kept finding kills, and Lintner put away the match-winner off a Preston assist to seal the 25-20 win.
Schutz and Lilovich each had six kills, with Lilovich adding 16 assists and a service ace. Lintner was a force at the net, hitting .500 with six kills, five block solos and two block assists for a team-high 12.0 points. Preston recorded nine assists, four kills, two service aces and 11 digs for 7.5 points, while Murphy added six kills. Everett led the IU Northwest back row with 12 digs.
IU Northwest hits the road Thursday, Oct. 22, for a conference match at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, Wis., with first serve set for 7 p.m.
