CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Lesley University men's volleyball team fell to non-conference Illinois Tech in three sets, 3-0, Friday evening. First year middle blocker Evan Robeck (Plainfield, Ill.) hit .435 notching a match-high 14 kills on 23 attempts with just four errors.
As a team, the Scarlet Hawks registered a .364 attacking percentage over the three-set match, tallying 39 kills on 77 attempts to improve to 5-16 on the season. Recording 11 kills as a team, the Lynx drop to 1-14 on the year.
Illinois Tech wasted little time jumping out to the quick 1-0 match advantage, taking the first set, 25-9. Junior setter Lukasz Kupiec (Alsip, Ill.) was nearly perfect from the floor tallying five kills on six attempts while sophomore Paulo Sassmannschausen (Sao Paulo, Brazil) came off the bench and was a perfect three-for-three to take the first set.
Sophomore outside hitter Steven Newman (Natick, Mass.) recorded two kills early in game two to help the Lynx open the second set with a 7-3 lead. The Lynx took advantage of three Scarlet Hawk service errors building a 9-6 lead midway through the game but it did not last for long. Illinois Tech responded, spinning momentum over to their side with a 9-0 run to take a 17-9 lead.
During the string of nine points, Robeck recorded five kills including three straight as the Scarlet Hawks sealed the second set with a 25-15 win.
The Scarlet Hawk offense did not let up, taking the third set by a score of 25-12. Hitting a staggering .429 as a team with 12 kills on 21 attempts, Illinois Tech took the final set by a score of 25-12 to grab their fifth victory of the season.
Kupiec finished the match with a .714 attack percentage and five kills hit .714 while recording 10 assists. Senior Michael Drews (Glendale Heights, Ill.) chipped in with six kills while Sassmannschausen and sophomore Irshad Hussain (Pakistan) followed up with five kills in the win.
Senior middle hitter Jacob DiDomenico (North Providence, R.I.) led the way for the Lynx tallying a team-high four kills while recording one solo block. Sophomore middle hitter John Gersbeck (Westerley, R.I.) followed up with three kills as junior setter Karuna Chiemruom (Cranson, R.I.) paced the offense with six assists.
The Lynx return to the hard-court after break when they host Elms College on Tuesday March 28th at 8:00 p.m. The Scarlet Hawks will be in action tomorrow, Saturday March 11th for a tri-match in Providence, R.I. with Eastern Nazarene College and Johnson & Wales University beginning at 11:00 a.m.