GAME STATS Wheaton, Ill.- The Wheaton Thunder volleyball team fell to Illinois Wesleyan in four sets on Wednesday night in King Arena.  The Thunder won the first set 25-16 before dropping the next three 25-16, 26-24 and 25-13.

A quick start got Wheaton (5-16, 0-5 CCIW) on-track for a victory in game one.  The Thunder jumped to a 6-1 lead and rode an effective hitting game to an 18-9 advantage. Wheaton's blocking game also shined as Wheaton took game one by a score of 25-16.

A back and forth second set swung the way of the Titans (14-9, 3-2 CCIW) in the middle of the set.  After Wheaton battled back to the tie the set at 13 points apiece, the Titans finished the set on a 12-3 run to take the second set 25-16.

The third set brought momentum swings in both directions as Wheaton raced to a 10-6 lead.  After holding the lead to 15-11, the Titans ran off eight straight points to take a commanding 19-15 lead.  Wheaton would battle back to eventually tie the match at 20.  Both teams alternated points until finally the Titans won the final two points of the set to win game three 26-24.

Wheaton again took a big lead early in the set leading 10-6, but Illinois Wesleyan went on a 14-2 run to take control of the set with a 20-12 lead.  Wheaton appeared to have rebounded to close the gap but a substitution error reversed a run of points and the Titans rolled to a 25-13 victory.

Andy DeMoss and Emily Buyse led the Thunder attack with eight kills apiece while Cassie Murphy had six kills.  Buyse led the Thunder with three service aces, which all came consecutively in the second set.  Lauren Wilhite had 28 assists as well as two service aces.  Lindsay Stein led the Thunder defense with three total blocks.

Wheaton will be in action this weekend at the 2012 Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, which is being hosted by North Central College.