GARY, Ind. — History made at the Savannah Center. Indiana University Northwest volleyball swept Saint Xavier (Ill.) 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-23) in the CCAC tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night, advancing to the conference semifinals for the first time in program history. The RedHawks improved to 20-7 on the season.
The RedHawks wasted no time in the opening set. Raniyah Preston tied it at 2-2 with a service ace, and Kaelan Murphy took over from the service line, sparking a 5-0 run with kills from Preston, Trinitie Lintner and Gabi Lilovich, including two Lilovich kills in a row. Saint Xavier cut it back to 7-11, but Amie Schutz answered with a kill off a Preston set, and the RedHawks kept rolling. Schutz and Brooklyn Perry each added kills off Lilovich sets to push the lead to 20-14, and Schutz then went to the service line, where a Perry block, a Perry kill and a Schutz service ace stretched the lead to 24-15 on the way to a 25-17 win.
Saint Xavier jumped on IU Northwest early in the second, scoring four straight on a pair of aces to lead 5-1. The RedHawks answered with Schutz and Lilovich kills off Preston sets to cut into the lead, and later, trailing 11-8, IU Northwest got a Murphy kill off an Eva Everett pass before Abby Allen went to the service line. Allen reeled off two straight service aces, and with a Saint Xavier error the RedHawks flipped the deficit into a 12-11 lead. The teams traded points down the stretch before Lilovich served an ace after a 21-21 tie, and Preston followed with a kill off a Lilovich set to give the RedHawks set point. Schutz sealed the 25-22 win by blocking a Saint Xavier attack.
The third set came down to the wire. Schutz opened with a service ace, and Lilovich and Murphy kills off Preston sets kept the RedHawks within a point, but Saint Xavier pulled ahead 11-9 and forced an IU Northwest timeout. Out of the break, Preston and Lintner each put away kills off Lilovich sets, with Marissa Guiterrez setting up another Preston kill to tie it at 12-12. Saint Xavier built a 21-18 lead, but Murphy answered with a kill off an Everett set, Preston and Perry added kills, and a Schutz-Perry block helped the RedHawks claw back to tie the set at 22. A Perry stuff and a Guiterrez service ace pushed IU Northwest to set point, and Preston finished it with a kill off a Lilovich set, sealing the 25-23 sweep and the program-first trip to the semifinals.
Schutz led the RedHawks with 10 kills and 14.5 points, adding two service aces, two block solos and a block assist. Preston hit .316 with nine kills, 18 assists and two service aces for 11.0 points, while Murphy added eight kills. Lilovich recorded 15 assists, six kills and 14 digs, and Perry hit .333 with five kills and three block solos. Everett led the defense with 12 digs.
The RedHawks now continue on to the CCAC semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 12, at Olivet Nazarene in Bourbonnais, Ill., taking on the Tigers with first serve set for 7 p.m.
