Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton volleyball team dropped its CCIW home opener Tuesday night as the Thunder hosted No. 18-Illinois Wesleyan. The Titans swept the Thunder 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-14).

Thunder freshman Colleen Smith led Wheaton with 10 kills and a .474 attack percentage, and eight digs. Madeline Moore contributed eight kills for the hosts. Kelly Thornton had a team-high 18 assists for the Thunder and Ellie Brown contributed two service aces. Jess Bosse led Wheaton with 14 digs.

Illinois Wesleyan's Tyler Brown led the guests with 13 kills and 17 digs. Leah Sielestad distributed 19 assists and Corey Madi had 16 assists. Heidi Dague had a team-high five total blocks.

Wheaton led early in the first set 7-4. The teams battled back-and-forth until the Titans took the lead for at 10-9. IWU led 18-14 when the Thunder used a 5-1 run to tie the match at 19-19. An IWU kills and service ace for the guests broke the tie and gave the Titans a 22-20 lead. IWU held on for the 25-22 lead. Colleen Smith led the Thunder with five kills in the set and Madeline Moore added four kills.

The second set opened as a tightly contested matchup with a 10-10 tie. Wheaton gained a 13-11 lead after that point, but the Titans rebounded to tie the match at 16-16. Illinois Wesleyan responded with five-consecutive points to take a 21-16 lead on their way to the 25-19 victory in the second set.

Illinois Wesleyan gained an early 8-1 lead in the decisive third set and never trailed in earning the 25-14 victory.

Wheaton continues a busy stretch of four-consecutive home games on Wednesday when Lake Forest College visits King Arena for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. The stretch continues on Friday with a conference matchup against Elmhurst at home and wraps up next Tuesday when No. 14 University of Chicago visits King Arena.