SOUTH BEND, Ind.-Â The Indiana University South Bend Titans (1-19, 1-4 CCAC) defeated the Indiana University Northwest Redhawks (8-12, 1-3 CCAC) in five sets by final scores of 24-26, 25-22, 25-18, 15-25, and 15-1 to earn their first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory of the year.
Set one was neck and neck to the wire with the Titans and Redhawks tying the score 16 different times before IUN pulled away scoring the final two points to break a 24-24 tie and win the first set 26-24.
Set two proved to be momentum shifting with both teams going on their own five points runs. Tied late at 20-20, IU South Bend rattled off five of the next seven points to win set two by a final score of 25-22.
The Titans dropped five of the first six points of set three before gaining momentum to jump out to a 12-8 lead. Still the Redhawks kept battling, tying the game at 12-12 before the Titans went on a run, scoring 13 of the next 19 points. Kills by Macy Sherman and Kaitlynn Bennett as well as a service ace from Ryleigh Grott helped IUSB win set three 25-18, now just one set away from victory.
IU Northwest came out in the fourth set and won the first four points before the Titans scored four in a row to tie the game. That would be as close as IU South Bend came in set four, unable to gain the lead through the remainder of the set, ultimately dropping set four 25-15.
Set five was all Titans as they scored the first 12 points in the first to 15 set thanks in large to superb serving from Suriya Van der Oord who was the server for the entire 12 point run. Back to back kills from Madison Figg and a service ace from Sydney Hanna put the final touches on set five with IU South Bend coming out victorious in a dominating 15-1 fifth set victory.
A potent IUSB offense saw two hitters finish with season highs in kills, Madison Figg with 17 and Audrey Buis with 14 while Macy Sherman finished just shy with eight kills. The Titans passing game was led by sophomore setter Brynn Lake who finished with a season high 36 assists.
A tough IUSB defense featured three players record double digit digs, led by Sydney Hanna who finished with 28 while Brynn Lake reached double-double status by posting 13 digs, the last Titan to reach the mark was Kiera Aguirre who finished with 10 digs of her own. At the net, Ryleigh Grott finished with an six impressive blocks while Kaitlynn Bennett tallied four and Madison Figg finished with three.