PICTURED ABOVE: Jessica Bosse led the Thunder wtih 22 digs and she added four service aces in Tuesday's win at North Park.

Chicago, Ill. – The Wheaton volleyball earned a 3-1 CCW victory at North Park (5-14, 0-3 CCIW) on Tuesday night. Wheaton rallied for a 28-26 victory in the first set and the Thunder won the second set 25-16. The Vikings picked up a 25-21 victory in the third set and Wheaton closed out the match with a 25-20 victory in the decisive fourth set.

Freshman Meghan Lacey (PICTURED LEFT) led the Thunder with 15 kills and she added 19 digs. Senior Shelby Knowles talked 14 kills with nine digs. Emily Potts and Ellie Brown were each credited with eight kills and Madeline Moore added seven kills. Sophomore Jessica Bosse recorded a team-leading 22 digs for the Thunder she had four service aces in the match. Brown added five assisted blocks for the guests. Ashley Torok tallied 32 assists and Kelly Thornton had 16 assists.  

A late rally by Wheaton allowed the Thunder to win the first set 28-26. The Vikings led the set early with a 12-9 advantage, however, the Thunder closed the gap and tied the score at 14-14. The set was tied 18-18 when the Vikings scored three points to gain a 21-18 lead. An attack error for NPU and a kill by Knowles cut the Vikings' lead to 21-20; however, the hosts responded with two straight points to lead the Thunder 23-20. The Vikings led 24-22 when Thunder junior Katie Rohrer tallied a kill and Bosse registered an ace to tie the set at 24-24. The teams traded points over the next four serves for a 26-26 tie. A pair of NPU miscues gave Wheaton the 28-26 victory and the set-one win. Rohrer led the Thunder with five kills in the set, while Moore and Knowles each tallied four kills. Bosse and Lacey each recorded six kills in the set.

Wheaton was a 25-16 winner in the second set. The set was tied at 5-5 when Wheaton scored four straight points to gain a 9-5 lead and the Vikings responded with three consecutive points to take a 9-8 lead. North Park stayed within three points of the Thunder over the next 11 serves. Wheaton led 15-13 when the Thunder scored nine consecutive points to take a 24-13 lead as the Thunder would go on to earn the 25-16 victory. Lacey and Potts (PICTURED RIGHT) led the Thunder with four kills each in the set, as Lacey also tallied five digs. Bosse had five digs and two service aces in the set.

North Park was a 25-21 victor in the third set. Wheaton led the set 7-2, when the Vikings put together a 9-1 scoring run to take an 11-8 lead. The set was tied at 11 when the Vikings put together a 7-2 surge that out the hosts in the lead for the remainder of the set. Knowles (PICTURED LEFT) and Lacey each recorded four kills in the set and Bosse led the Thunder with eight digs.

Wheaton closed out the match by winning the fourth set 25-20. North Park scored the first point of the set and Wheaton responded by scoring the next seven points to take a 7-1 lead as Wheaton never trailed in the set after NPU's early 1-0 advantage. Knowles recorded six kills in the fourth set. Lacey tallied four kills in the set and recorded a team-high eight digs in the set.

Wheaton will remain in conference play in its next match with a trip to Waukesha, Wisconsin on October 8 for a meeting with Carroll University.