JOLIET, Ill. — Indiana University Northwest volleyball swept St. Francis (Ill.) 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-21) on the road Tuesday night at the Pat Sullivan Center, improving to 18-7 overall and 13-4 in CCAC play.
The opening set was tied at 3-3 before Amie Schutz went to the service line and sparked the RedHawks. Raniyah Preston and Trinitie Lintner added kills off Gabi Lilovich sets, and a Kaelan Murphy-Lintner block forced an attack error to push IU Northwest ahead 6-3. St. Francis fought back to tie it at 11-11, but Eva Everett served an ace to put the RedHawks back in front, and Schutz and Lintner stuffed a pair of attacks to stretch the lead to 17-13. Murphy put away back-to-back kills off Lilovich sets late, Lilovich added a kill off a Preston assist, and Schutz closed out the set with a kill off a Preston set for a 25-20 win.
IU Northwest took control early in the second. After a quick 2-0 deficit, Everett served an ace to help the RedHawks build a 6-3 lead, and Lintner added a kill off a Preston set. Then Lilovich took over at the service line, forcing a pair of attack errors and adding a service ace to push the lead to 10-4. Preston and Lintner combined on blocks to keep the margin comfortable, and IU Northwest held an 18-10 lead before St. Francis chipped away. Lilovich put away two late kills off Preston assists, including the set-clincher, to seal the 25-21 win.
The third set was the tightest of the night. Schutz opened the RedHawks' scoring surge from the service line, with Lintner and Murphy adding kills and Schutz following with back-to-back service aces for a 7-3 lead. St. Francis battled back to tie the set at 21-21, forcing an IU Northwest timeout. Out of the break, the RedHawks reeled off four straight points with Lilovich at the service line, capped by a Lindsey Krueger kill off a Lilovich set and a Schutz kill off a Lilovich set to finish the sweep, 25-21.
Schutz led the RedHawks with 13 kills on .346 hitting for 17.5 points, adding 16 digs, three service aces and three block assists. Lilovich recorded nine kills, 19 assists, two service aces and 11.0 points, while Preston directed the offense with 24 assists and seven kills. Brooklyn Perry hit .400 with six kills, and Lintner added five kills and five block assists. Everett led the defense with 17 digs and two service aces.
IU Northwest returns home Thursday, Nov. 5, to host IU South Bend and kick off Homecoming week at IU Northwest, with first serve set for 5:30 p.m.
