MILWAUKEE — Indiana University Northwest volleyball took down Mount Mary 3-1 (25-20, 25-16, 23-25, 25-12) on the road Thursday night, improving to 16-7 overall and 11-4 in CCAC play.
The first set was tied at 11-11 before Mount Mary grabbed a 13-11 edge. IU Northwest answered with Eva Everett's service ace to get the RedHawks back in front, then Amie Schutz and Gabi Lilovich took over, with Schutz putting away a pair of kills off Raniyah Preston assists and Lilovich adding another off Preston's set to build an 18-15 lead. The RedHawks closed out the set 25-20 after Murphy added a late kill off a Lilovich set.
IU Northwest wasted no time in the second. With Schutz at the service line, kills from Preston, Schutz and Trinitie Lintner and a Murphy-Lintner block sparked a quick run that pushed the lead to 7-2. Lilovich added back-to-back kills off sets from Abby Allen and Murphy, and a Murphy kill forced a Mount Mary timeout with the RedHawks up 12-4. IU Northwest cruised from there for a 25-16 win and a 2-0 match lead.
The third set was the closest of the night. The RedHawks built a 14-9 advantage behind Schutz, Lindsey Krueger and Lintner, but Mount Mary rallied, helped by a pair of service aces, to pull within a point at 21-20. Krueger and Lilovich answered with back-to-back kills off assists from Marissa Guiterrez and Preston to put IU Northwest up 23-22, but Mount Mary scored the final three points to take the set, 25-23.
IU Northwest left no doubt in the fourth. After a Mount Mary point to open the set, the RedHawks used two stuffs from Murphy, Lintner and Preston, a pair of Mount Mary errors and a Lintner kill to take control at 6-2, then Everett went on a service run that included two aces and kills from Schutz and Preston to stretch the lead to 15-4. Preston added an ace of her own, Murphy put away a pair of late kills off Preston assists, and the RedHawks closed out the match with a 25-12 win.
Murphy led IU Northwest with nine kills and four assisted blocks for 12.0 points, while Lintner matched her 12.0 points with eight kills on .467 hitting and eight assisted blocks. Schutz added 10 kills for 11.5 points. Preston directed the offense with 23 assists, seven kills and 9.0 points, and Lilovich added 21 assists, eight kills and 12 digs. Everett led the RedHawks with 12 digs and four service aces, and she surpassed her 1,000th collegiate career dig during the match.
IU Northwest returns home Saturday, Oct. 24, hosting Governors State University on Senior Day to honor Marissa Guiterrez. Senior Day celebrations begin at 11 a.m., followed by the match.
