Liz Lykowscku / Indiana Tech University

Liz Lykowski

On October 5, 2008, Indiana Tech student Elizabeth "Liz" Lykowski played another winning game with the Warriors, the school’s nationally-ranked volleyball team. The team was 20-0 and ranked #17 in the nation. Liz, a senior majoring in human resource management with a minor in coaching, planned to coach volleyball at her high school alma mater after she graduated. But she never got the chance. Sometime during the night, Liz quietly and unexpectedly passed away from a congenital heart defect. She would have been 22-years old on October 27.

Liz was a defensive specialist for the Indiana Tech Warriors. She had played on the team since women's volleyball was reinstated at the college in 2005. She was part of Indiana Tech Volleyball's first four-year class. She was the team's first out-of-state recruit and earned a starting spot in her freshman year. Liz graduated from Whiteford High School in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, where she played volleyball, basketball and softball. A dedicated athlete, Liz was in the All-Tri County Volleyball Conference and earned the Monroe Evening News All-Region Honors.

Getting her college degree was a priority for Liz, and she had been taking 28 credits as a student athlete to graduate in the spring. Her parents accepted her degree in her honor. Classmates held a candlelight vigil for Liz at the school, and her teammates kept up the fight in Liz's honor on the volleyball court. The Warriors ended the season with a 33-5 record, the best they have ever played.

In remembrance of Liz, an athletic scholarship was created for Whiteford High School students, and The Liz Lykowski Memorial Volleyball Tournament is played every year at college level.