ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University women's volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to Illinois Tech, falling 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 28-26, 16-25, 0-15) on Wednesday night inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

Illinois Tech jumped ahead with a 25-21 win in the opening set, taking advantage of Bluejay miscues despite early kills from Maggie Cross and Blair Johnson. Elmhurst responded in the second, stringing together strong serving from Gianna Ptaszek, who recorded an ace during a key 5-0 run. Keely Larson and Ashley Clardy each contributed kills late, while Freddie Temple sealed the set at 25-20 with a well-placed attack.

Set three was the most dramatic of the night, featuring 15 ties and 10 lead changes. Blair Johnson and Larson combined for kills down the stretch, while Temple kept the offense moving with a match-high 34 assists. Johnson's late kill followed by Larson's finisher gave Elmhurst the 28-26 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Scarlet Hawks regrouped in the fourth, using a .423 attack percentage to grab a 25-16 win despite six kills from Johnson and Larson combined. In the decisive fifth, Illinois Tech raced out to a 10-0 lead behind the serving of Rowan Midgette, who delivered multiple aces in the run. Elmhurst was unable to recover, falling 15-0.

Statistically, Johnson led the Bluejays with 14 kills and nine digs, while Clardy (10 kills, three blocks) and Larson (eight kills, five blocks) chipped in on both sides of the net. Temple directed the offense with 34 assists, adding four kills, two aces, and six digs. Defensively, Alexis Casey anchored the back row with 21 digs, and Ptaszek tallied three service aces.

As a team, Elmhurst finished with 46 kills, 43 assists, and 56 digs, while totaling nine aces and six blocks. With the loss, the Bluejays moved to 1-7 on the season.