GARY, Ind. — Indiana University Northwest volleyball held off Governors State 3-2 (26-24, 12-25, 25-21, 21-25, 15-13) on Saturday at the Savannah Center, handing the RedHawks a hard-earned win on Senior Day. IU Northwest improved to 17-7 overall and 12-4 in CCAC play.
Before the first serve, the RedHawks honored senior Marissa Guiterrez in a pregame celebration, and she started the match for IU Northwest.
The opening set went back and forth early, with the teams trading points until a Governors State run pushed the Jaguars ahead 14-11. Amie Schutz and Raniyah Preston kept the RedHawks within reach, with Schutz putting away kill after kill off Preston assists, and Kaelan Murphy and Brooklyn Perry combined on a block to cut the deficit to 23-20. Down 24-22, IU Northwest turned to Abby Allen at the service line. Allen forced an attack error, then rattled off back-to-back service aces to complete a four-point finish, and the RedHawks claimed the set 26-24.
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Governors State answered in the second, taking control midway through and never letting go as the RedHawks struggled to find their rhythm at the net. A late kill by Lindsey Krueger off a Preston set ended a long Governors State run, but the Jaguars closed out the set 25-12 to even the match.
IU Northwest regrouped in the third after falling behind 4-0 early. Guiterrez sparked the comeback from the service line with an ace, Trinitie Lintner added a kill off a Gabi Lilovich set, and Schutz followed with a kill off an Eva Everett pass as the RedHawks pulled even. Everett then served an ace of her own, and Perry added a block to put IU Northwest ahead. Schutz, Krueger and Perry kept the pressure on with kills, and the RedHawks built a four-point cushion, with a Lintner block helping set up set point before they closed it out 25-21.
The Jaguars controlled the fourth set after a Lilovich service-ace start. Governors State built a 15-7 lead, but IU Northwest battled back behind a service run from Allen that included an ace, a Krueger kill and a Murphy kill to cut the lead to five. Lintner and Perry added kills down the stretch to make it 22-18, but the RedHawks ran out of time, falling 25-21 to force a fifth set.
The decider was tight from start to finish. Everett opened the set with a service ace, and Allen ignited a mid-set run with an ace and a pair of Preston kills to give IU Northwest a late edge. Schutz and Perry traded kills with Governors State, and the RedHawks held a one-point lead at 14-13 when Lintner put away a kill off a Preston assist to seal the 15-13 win.
Schutz led the RedHawks with 17 kills and 19.0 points to go with 18 digs. Preston directed the offense with 24 assists, eight kills and 14 digs, while Lilovich added 21 assists and two service aces. Lintner finished with nine kills and three block solos for 12.0 points, and Perry chipped in seven kills and 9.5 points. Everett led the defense with 20 digs and two service aces, and Allen came off the bench to record four service aces.
IU Northwest travels to Joliet, Ill., on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to face St. Francis (Ill.), with first serve set for 7 p.m. CST.
