Box Score

Wheaton, Ill. - In its first home match of the season, Wheaton College volleyball team shutout Lake Forest College 3-0 on Tuesday.

The Thunder took the three sets 25-16, 25-21, 25-18 to improve to 3-2 overall. The Foresters fell to 3-4 on the year.

The first set was all Wheaton from the get go. The hosts used efficient offensive execution and good communication to find holes in the middle of the Forester defense. Lake Forest struggled with serve reception and digging, which prevented the visitors from mounting any effective offense.

Good timing on attacks allowed the Thunder to tip balls right over the top of the blocks and build a 17-9 lead at the midpoint of the set. The Foresters started to string some points together to pull within 18-13, but Wheaton would allow them no closer as Emily Buyse ended the set with a block to make it 25-16.

Ashlie Pace's serving was the story of the second set. The senior libero confounded the Lake Forest defense with her strong top-spin jump serve and helped Wheaton build an early 9-3 advantage. In total, the Thunder won seven of nine points on Pace's serve.

However, the lead slipped away from the hosts due to indecisive misfires into the net and out of bounds. Lake Forest grabbed the momentum and went on a 12-3 run to build a 15-12 lead. Big blocks in the middle got Wheaton back into the contest to tie the score at 20-20.

That's when Pace got back on serve and nailed back-to-back aces. With the momentum in hand, the Thunder capped the comeback run with a hard smash kills from outside hitter Hannah Velling to close out the set 25-21.

Set three was a back-and-forth affair the whole way. Buyse took some big swings and stuffed attacks in the middle to help build a 15-11 lead. Meanwhile, Lake Forest settled for too many attack attempts from the back line. The see-saw battle continued until Velling collected a couple more big kills to gain a 21-17 advantage. From there, Wheaton rode out the rest of the match 25-18.

Velling put up big numbers for the Thunder with 16 kills and only one error on 29 attempts. Cassie Murphy contributed a balanced effort with 10 kills and 10 digs. Setter Jenna McCallister tallied 30 assists. Buyse collected five blocks and Pace totaled 24 digs and three aces.

Wheaton is back on the road this weekend with a four-match stint at the Colorado College Tournament on Friday and Saturday.