PICTURED ABOVE: Andy DeMoss tallied 10 kills and had 11 digs.
Wheaton, Ill. – The Thunder volleyball team returned to action on Tuesday night with a 3-0 victory against North Park (8-18/0-5 CCIW). Wheaton opened with identical 25-15 victories in the first two sets and Wheaton closed out the win with a 25-11 victory in the decisive third set.
Wheaton is now 8-16 overall and 3-1 in CCIW play. The Thunder will travel to Decatur, Illinois on Friday and Saturday to compete in Millikin University's "Linda Slagell Dig For The Cure Tournament" Wheaton's first match on Friday will be a CCIW contest against the host Big Blue. Friday's match between Wheaton and #18-ranked Millikin pits two squads that are both 3-1 in CCIW action and tied for second place in the CCIW standings.
Sophomore
Shelby Knowles (PICTURED LEFT) led the Thunder with 16 kills tonight and she added two service aces. Senior
Andy DeMoss tallied 10 kills and had a team-high 11 digs. Freshman
Katie Rohrer recorded seven kills.
Ashley Torok distributed 21 assists and
Alley Lindner had 17 assists.
Hannah Japp had a team-best six total kills.
"I was really pleased to see how cleanly we executed our game plan tonight. We have been working really hard on being aggressive at the serving line, as well as limiting our errors." She concluded, "This was a solid win for the team. It was really exciting to see all of our freshmen get on the court tonight and step up when the opportunity presented itself."
The first set started out as a tightly contested affair. Wheaton broke a 10-10 tie with six unanswered points to take a 16-10 lead, thanks in part to three kills by Knowles. The strong Wheaton surge helped pace the hosts to the 25-15 victory. Knowles had eight kills in the set. Torok tallied nine assists and DeMoss had six digs.
Wheaton jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the second set. The Vikings trimmed the hosts' lead to 11-8. Wheaton responded from its 18-14 lead with a 7-1 scoring advantage to close out the set with the 25-15 victory. Knowles had four kills and four digs in the set.
Wheaton secured the match victory in the third set as the Thunder jumped out to a 7-1 lead an pulled away for the win. DeMoss and Rohrer each tallied five kills in the set and Knowles recorded four kills. Torok and Lindner each had eight assists in the set.
