GAME STATS Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton volleyball team opened its conference schedule with a 3-1 victory against North Central (14-3/0-1 CCIW) on Tuesday night in King Arena. Wheaton is now 5-11 on the year and 1-0 in CCIW play. The Thunder will entertain Loras College on Friday at 5:00 p.m. in King Arena during Wheaton's Homecoming activities.

The Cardinals won the opening set 25-12 and Wheaton picked up a 25-19 victory in the second set to tie the match at 1-1. Wheaton was a 25-19 winner in the third set and the Thunder closed out the match with a 25-23 win in the fourth set.

Sophomore Shelby Knowles led Wheaton with 16 kills and 20 digs in the match. Andy DeMoss contributed 12 kills with four total blocks. Senior Lindsay Stein added nine kills and Kelli Manning contributed 15 digs. Ashley Torok distributed 21 assists and Alley Lindner added 13 assists.  

Head coach Brittany Smith noted of the match, "With a rough start in the first set, I was incredibly proud of our team's composure and execution in the next three sets. With solid blocking on both sides of the net, and tremendous defensive efforts, the rallies were long and at times ugly. But our players stayed focused, didn't stop believing the match was theirs to win, and finished the game with confidence." She concluded, "This is a huge step forward for this team and I am hopeful for what this will lead to as we continue in conference play next week."
 
The Cardinals jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first set as the Cardinals convincingly won the opening set 25-12. DeMoss led the Thunder with three kills in the set and Knowles had a team-high seven digs.

North Central again jumped out to an early lead in the second set as the guests led 7-3. Wheaton clawed its way back into the set to create a 12-12 tie. Wheaton held a narrow 15-14 lead, but expanded it to 20-16. A service ace by Knowles gave Wheaton its 25^th point and the 25-19 win in the second set. Knowles had a set-high seven kills in the set, while Stein and DeMoss each had three total blocks.

Wheaton owned an early 7-2 lead in the third set, however, the Cardinals rallied to take a 15-13 lead midway through the set. A kill by Andy DeMoss gave Wheaton an 18-17 lead and the Thunder held the advantage for the remainder of the set. Wheaton out-scored the Cardinals 8-2 to close out the set and take the 2-1 lead. Stein tallied a team-best four kills, while Knowles and DeMoss each had three kills. Knowles tallied seven digs in the set.

The fourth set was back-and forth. North Central led 10-7, however, Wheaton fought back to tie the match at 13-13. The Cardinals scored five consecutive points to take an 18-13 lead. Wheaton rallied from a 20-16 deficit by scoring six consecutive points to take a 22-20 lead to help setup the 25-23 win. Knowles tallied five kills, DeMoss recorded four kills and Stein tallied three.