Arden Hills, Minn. – The Thunder volleyball team is participating in the season-opening Bethel Invitational this weekend. Wheaton is scheduled to play in four matches this weekend, picking up two matches on Friday. The Thunder lost to Wartburg College 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-15) in the season opener. Wheaton rallied to defeat UW-Superior in the second match on Friday in a 3-1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-22, 25-22) win.

Freshman Meghan Lacey led the Thunder with seven kills in the matchup with Wartburg and fellow freshman Madeline Moore added five kills, while senior Shelby Knowles had four kills. Ashley Torok distributed 12 assists and sophomore Jessica Bosse tallied 12 digs.

In the victory against UW-Superior, Lacey again led the Thunder with 13 kills and she also registered 14 digs. Hannah Japp tallied 12 kills, Moore had seven kills. Emily Potts and Knowles each had six kills. Torok distributed 28 assists and sophomore setter Kelly Thornton had 20 assists. Bosse recorded 34 digs and Potts registered five assisted blocks. Torok had 10 assists and a team-high three service aces.

Head coach Brittany Smith said of Friday's action, "It was great to see the team regroup and finish the day with a 1-1 record. We just played flat and struggled immensely on serve receive our first match against Wartburg. Too many errors and too little intensity let the games slip away from us." She added, "But it was fantastic to see the aggressive play and response from the team in the second match. Our offense was outstanding and versatile. Our defense and serve receive was much improved, and the team played with intensity." She concluded, "I'm looking forward to seeing how this will carry us forward tomorrow."

The Thunder will close out their participation in the tournament on Saturday with a match at 10:00 a.m. against Nebraska Wesley followed by a 2:00 p.m. matchup with the host Royals of Bethel University.