GAME STATS 1 | GAME STATS 2 | GAME STATS 3 Thousand Oaks, Calif. – The Wheaton volleyball team traveled to California this weekend to participate in the CalLu Fornia Invitational, hosted by top-ranked Cal Lutheran University.

Wheaton opened its participation in the tournament on Friday night against Ohio Wesleyan. Ohio Wesleyan defeated the Thunder, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23). Senior Shelby Knowles (PICTURED ABOVE) led the Thunder with 13 kills and added nine digs. Freshman Meghan Lacey tallied 10 kills with eight digs. Sophomore Kelly Thornton distributed 16 assists and senior Ashley Torok had 11 assists. Jessica Bosse had a team-high 10 digs for the Thunder.

In Saturday morning's action, the Thunder faced fourth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. CMS defeated the Thunder 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-9) in the match. Knowles registered a team-high a team-high 12 kills with 13 digs. Freshman Madeline Moore tallied six kills for the Thunder and Torok led the squad with 20 assists. Bosse led Wheaton with 26 digs and Lacey had 10 digs for the Thunder.  

Thunder head coach Brittany Smith noted after the match, "After disappointing play last night the team did an excellent job responding and taking a set from a nationally-ranked opponent in Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The improvement in defense and serve receive was significant as well as the block."
 
Wheaton closed out its participation in the tournament on Saturday afternoon in a matchup with East Texas Baptist University. The Thunder defeated ETBU, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-19) in the finale for Wheaton. Lacey led the Thunder with a team-high 13 kills in the match and she added 11 digs. Knowles tallied 12 kills with 10 digs. Torok distributed a team-high 17 assists and she added three service aces. Bosse had a team-high 12 digs in the match and Thornton had 15 assists. Katie Rohrer, Emily Potts and Hannah Japp each registered four assisted blocks in the contest.

Smith mentioned after the win against ETBU, "It was good to see everything come together in the final match. With excellent defense and strong blocking, the team dominated. Several players are stepping up and our trust and confidence is building and we are looking forward to our next two home matches."
 
Wheaton will host Lake Forest College on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in King Arena in Wheaton's home opener. The Thunder will open conference play on Wednesday night when Elmhurst visits King Arena.