T&T’s Daynte Stewart continued his good early season form as he led Indiana Tech ‘Warriors’ to back-to-back victories over Trine in three days in the Cross Roads Cross Over Tournament in Indiana.
Firstly, on Thursday last at Hershey Hall, Angola, Stewart had a match-high 11 kills in his 15 points for Indiana Tech ‘Warriors’ as they defeated Trine 25-18, 22-25, 25-15, 25-17.
Stewart, who was voted as the 2021 T&T Volleyball Federation “Senior Sportsman of the Year” also tallied three blocks, two aces, one assist, and three digs in his team’s third win from as many matches to start the season.
His teammate, Dante Siracusa had a team-high 12 kills while Raekwon Rogers chipped in with eight kills and two blocks in the victory.
For Trine, Kevin Boncaro got 11 kills, while Kyle Dixon and Ted Hofmesiter added nine kills each.
Overall, it was a very dominant display by Stewart and the ‘Warriors’ as they outscored Trine 49-38 on kills; 6-1 on service aces, 8-6 on blocks, 45-36 on assists and 42-34 on digs.
Trine was also defeated by Goshen 3-1 on Friday at Schaefer centre, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and then in their second match on Friday, Indiana Tech recorded a 25-18, 28-26, 25-16 triumph over Trine in front of their home crowd at Schaefer Centre.
This time Stewart mustered ten kills, four blocks, and one ace, Rogers got eight kills and two blocks, and Siracusa chipped in with seven kills.
Stillman had seven kills for Trine, while Hofmeister and Boncaro both added six each.
Indiana Tech was again dominant in all key facets of the match-up dominating Trine 40-33 on kills; 5-3 on aces, 9-6 on blocks and 37-33 assists.
Earlier this month, Stewart and Indiana Tech began the season with a pair of wins over National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) opponents, defeating Division I/II Central State University 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-10) and Division III rival Wittenberg 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-14) in the Buckeye State.
Stewart and the Warriors next head to Bourbonnais, Illinois on January 18 for the ONU Quad where they will face off with Trinity Christian College and the host Olivet Nazarene University.
Stewart and Indiana Tech, the defending Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) champion open up their title defence on January 22 with a trip to Siena Heights before heading to Goshen four days later. The team's home conference opener is slated for January 29 against Aquinas College.
Last season, Stewart and Indiana Tech men's volleyball team qualified for the 2021 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Championship in just the second year of the program after he led the team to its first WHAC title and earned selection to the All American Second Team and WHAC Conference First Team.
It was the first time the Warriors found themselves in the NAIA postseason since the 1970s with a 16-5 record.
Going into 2022 season the Indiana Tech men's volleyball team was picked second in the 2022 Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) Preseason Coaches Poll, the conference office announced Wednesday.
Indiana Tech received 50 points and one first-place vote in the preseason rankings after splitting the regular-season crown with Lourdes University last season as both teams went 10-2 in league play.
Lourdes was tabbed to win the 2022 title with 63 points and the remaining seven first-place votes.
The WHAC Preseason Poll is voted on by the league's eight head coaches. Points are tabulated by assigning eight points to the team a coach ranks first, seven points to a team a coach ranks second, and so on.
The Indiana Tech men's volleyball team was also ranked ninth in the 2022 NAIA Coaches' Preseason Top 15 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday.
The Warriors received 146 points in the preseason rankings and dropped one spot from their final position in the 2021 NAIA Coaches Postseason Top 15 Poll. Tech has now been ranked for eighth straight polls.
The first regular-season edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top 15 Poll will be announced on January 26.