DECATUR, Ill. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology put up a pair of tight battles, but Illinois College and Lincoln (Ill.) emerged with narrow victories at the Millikin University Invitational on Saturday.
Illinois College captured the opener by a tight 25-21, 28-26, 14-25, 26-24 margin. Elizabeth Canon paced Rose-Hulman with 14 kills. Riley Woodruff added 11 kills, and Adekite Oladipupo pitched in with nine kills for the Engineers.
Katie Orbeta had a team-high 43 assists for Rose-Hulman, and Katryna Dahlberg pitched in with a team-high five service aces.
Defensively, Dahlberg recorded 21 digs and Orbeta had 12. Woodruff had a team-best seven block assists.
In the nightcap, Lincoln (Ill.) rallied to earn a 25-16, 19-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10 victory. Woodruff had 12 kills, with Oladipupo and Madison Wendelin reaching double figures with 10 kills each. Canon and Grace Beach recorded eight kills.
Eryn Castaneda led the team with 25 assists, and Sophia Harrison had 16 assists. Castaneda and Woodruff led the team with two service aces.
Defensively, Woodruff had a career-high nine block assists. Wendelin recorded five block assists, and the trio of Beach, Oladipupo and Castaneda had three each. Dahlberg had a team-high 36 digs.
Following the tournament, Canon earned a spot on the all-Millikin Invitational Team.
Rose-Hulman returns to action on Wednesday at Webster University.
