GAME STATS PICTURED ABOVE: Andy DeMoss (LEFT) tallied ten kills and Emily Buyse (RIGHT) had six total blocks.
Wheaton, Ill. – The Thunder volleyball team rallied from a 1-0 deficit tonight to earn a 3-1 victory against Benedictine University in a non-conference match against the Eagles. Tonight's match was the home opener of the 2013 season for the Thunder.
Benedictine rallied to defeat Wheaton 26-24 in the opening set. Wheaton led 22-20 late in the set, but the Eagles gained an edge with three straight points to take a 23-22 lead. Wheaton pulled the late rally in the second set to earn a 25-23 win. Benedictine led 23-20, but Wheaton responded with five straight points to stun the Eagles and tie the match at one set apiece.
Wheaton took control of the match with a 25-18 win in the third set. The Thunder broke a 3-3 tie with four straight points to lead 7-3 and never trailed for the rest of the set. Wheaton won the decisive fourth set 25-19. Benedictine led the Thunder 16-13 when Wheaton responded with seven consecutive points to take a 20-16 lead that set the Thunder up for the set victory.
Junior
Maddie McGinnis led the Thunder with 13 kills and a .310 attack percentage.
Andy DeMoss and
Megan McKinley each recorded 10 kills.
Emily Buyse tallied seven kills with six assisted blocks.
Lindsay Stein contributed six kills and three block assists.
Lauren Wilhite (PICTURED LEFT) had a team-high 46 assists, with seven digs. Wilhite contributed four blocks and Stein added three.
Kelli Manning led Wheaton with 22 digs and
Samantha Hedlund added 10.
Shelby Knowles contributed a team-best three service aces with eight digs.
Wheaton has now won five of its last six matches and improves to 6-4 on the year. The Thunder will host the Wheaton Quad on Saturday with a match against Monmouth College (Ill.) at 11 AM and a contest against St. Mary's (Ind.) at 1:30 PM.
