Site: Fort Wayne, Ind. (Schafer Center)
Score: No. 17 Indiana Tech 3, No. 22 Madonna 2 (28-26, 25-20, 24-26, 23-25, 15-6)
Records: MU 32-6; IIT 30-9
Next MU Event: TBA

BOX SCORE

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (MadonnaCrusaders.com) - - After falling behind two sets to none and facing match point four times in set three, the No. 22 ranked Madonna University volleyball team rallied back to force a fifth set but could not maintain the momentum and fell by a final of 3-2 to No. 17-ranked Indiana Tech (28-26, 25-20, 24-26, 23-25, 15-6) in the finals of the 2009 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship on Saturday (Nov. 14) inside the Schafer Center.

Senior Mary McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) led MU with 21 kills while the Crusaders picked up 17 more from junior Liz Dempsey (Westland, Mich.). Senior Inta Grinvalds (Portage, Mich.) handed out 50 assists while sophomore Amanda Koszela (Dearborn, Mich.) posted a career high 29 digs and was joined in double-figure digs by senior Abby Long (LaPorte, Ind.) who had 11 and Dempsey who added 14 for a double-double (kills/digs). Tech's Ashley Hamilton led the Warriors with 17 terminations.

After dropping the opening sets by finals of 28-26 and 25-20, the Crusaders faced a must win in set three. Tech opened up a seven point lead at 17-10 before MU crept back, pulling to with in five at 19-14. The Warriors they went back up by six at 22-16 before the two sides traded points and Tech was up 24-19 and just a point way from the WHAC title. Madonna staved off elimination using three kills from Dempsey along with a McGinnis termination and service ace to tie the set at 24-all. Back-to-back Tech closed the 7-0 Madonna run and kept the Crusaders alive with the 26-24 win.

Set four was back and forth early with Tech holding an early four point lead at 8-4 before Madonna came pack to tie the set at 9-all and take the lead at 10-9. The two sides continued to trade points until back-to-back Dempsey kills put MU on top 21-19 and the Crusaders would not relinquish that lead, closing set four on a pair of kills from sophomore Karie Altman (Taylor, Mich.) and a Koszela service ace for the 25-23 win.

The final set was all Tech from the start as the Warriors raced out to a 9-4 lead and never looked back, taking the deciding set 15-6 to claim the WHAC's tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship.

The Crusaders hope to me among the 36 teams selected for the 2009 National Championship when the selections are announced on Sunday (Nov. 15) evening.

Contact: Patrick Moore (734) 432-5834