CHICAGO — Indiana University Northwest volleyball opened conference play in style Thursday night, knocking off Saint Xavier (Ill.) 3-1 (25-23, 25-16, 19-25, 25-18) at the Shannon Center for the RedHawks' first win over the Cougars since 2019.
The opener was tight from the jump, with Kaelan Murphy and Amie Schutz trading early kills against Addison Hoeniges and the Cougars. Schutz then took over midway through, ripping off a personal run that included back-to-back service aces to push IU Northwest out to a 12-6 cushion. Saint Xavier didn't fold, clawing back behind Yuvia Velasquez late to pull within 24-23, but a Cougar attack error sealed the opening set for the RedHawks, 25-23.
IU Northwest carried that energy straight into the second set. Raniyah Preston set the tone with a pair of service aces, and Schutz kept the pressure on with kills to build a double-digit lead. Gabi Lilovich chipped in down the stretch, and the RedHawks cruised to a 25-16 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Saint Xavier finally found its footing in the third, riding kills from Delaney Panozzo and Ella O'Neill and a strong serving stretch from Taylor Vann to seize control. IU Northwest couldn't recover in time, dropping the set 25-19 as the Cougars avoided the sweep.
The RedHawks answered right away in the fourth. Murphy and Lintner opened with kills to build an early edge, and Lilovich took over from there, stringing together back-to-back kills of her own to push the lead into double digits. Trinitie Lintner delivered the finishing touch with a kill to close out the match, 25-18, sealing the RedHawks' first CCAC win of the season and moving IU Northwest to 1-0 in conference play.
Schutz led all players with 15 kills on .273 hitting and a team-high 17.0 points. Preston added eight kills, 17 assists, five service aces and 12 digs, while Lilovich recorded 16 assists and 12 digs to go with five kills. Murphy chipped in seven kills, and Lintner hit .500 with eight kills and a solo block.
IU Northwest returns home to the Savannah Center on Sept. 8 to host Judson University, with first serve set for 7 p.m. CDT.
