Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Wheaton Thunder volleyball team (6-14) began its participation in the Midwest Classic on Friday, a tournament jointly hosted by Calvin College and Hope College. Wheaton's first two matches of that day were held at Calvin's Van Noord Arena in Grand Rapids. The Thunder will face Kalamazoo College (10 a.m. EDT) and
top-ranked Hope College (1:30 p.m. EDT) on Saturday at DeVos Fieldhouse on Hope's campus in Holland, Michigan.
Fourth-ranked Calvin College (18-3), the defending NCAA Division III Champions, defeated Wheaton 3-0 in the first match of the day for the Thunder. The Knights opened with a 25-14 victory in set one, earned a 25-22 win in the second set and the hosts closed out the match with a 25-13 victory against the Thunder in the third set.
Sophomore
Shelby Knowles led Wheaton in the Calvin match with nine kills, 11 digs and two service aces.
Andy DeMoss recorded six kills and
Hannah Japp tallied five kills. Freshman setter
Alley Lindner led the Thunder with 14 assists and
Ashley Torok distributed nine assists. DeMoss added nine digs;
Hannah Japp and
Lindsay Stein each had three total blocks for a Wheaton team that registered six blocks in the match.
DePauw University bested the Thunder 3-0 in Wheaton's second match of the day. The Tigers opened with a 25-15 victory in set one. DePauw was a 25-11 winner in the second set and the Tiger closed out the Thunder with a 25-18 victory in the decisive third set.
Knowles again tallied a team-high with six kills and Japp added four kills. Torok distributed 14 assists as Knowles and
Brittany Creel each had two service aces. Creel led the Thunder with 15 digs and
Kelli Manning added 14 digs.
