Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton volleyball team held on to defeat Lake Forest 3-2 in a non-conference matchup in King Arena on Wednesday night. Wheaton opened with a 25-23 win in the first set and the Thunder won the second set 25-21. The Foresters rallied with a 25-18 win in the third set and evened the match at 2-2 with a 25-16 victory in the fourth set. Wheaton emerged with the match victory by winning the decisive fifth set 15-13.

Madeline Moore and Colleen Smith each registered 12 kills for the Thunder. Kelly Thornton (PICTURED LEFT) and Deborah Smith each contributed six kills, with five kills apiece for Kaylee Byerlee and Ellie Brown. Thornton had a team-high 29 assists and Mia Staub contributed 14 assists. Deborah Smith tallied a team-high five total blocks and Ellie Brown added four total blocks. Senior Jess Bosse led Wheaton with 24 digs and Colleen Smith added 13 digs.

The Thunder won the first set 25-23. Wheaton snapped a 3-3 tie in the opening set with three-consecutive points to gain a 6-3 lead. The Thunder never trailed after that point, and build a seven-point lead at 19-12. Wheaton led 21-17; however, the Foresters closed the gap 5-2 run to trim the Wheaton lead to 23-22. Moore tallied her fourth kill of the set on the next point to give Wheaton a 24-22 lead as the hosts emerged with the 25-23 victory.

Wheaton rallied to win the second set 25-21. The Foresters led 16-12, when the Thunder responded with five-consecutive points to give the hosts a 17-16 lead. Lake Forest countered with three-consecutive points to give LFC a 19-17 lead. Lake Forest led 21-19 when Ellie Brown's kill started a 6-0 run for the Thunder to close out the set as Wheaton won 25-21.

Lake Forest gained an early 11-4 lead in the third set and emerged with a 25-18 victory to trim the Wheaton advantage to two matches to one. The Foresters never trailed in the fourth set, winning 25-16.

Wheaton took early control of the fifth set, leading 4-0 early in the set. Moore tallied two of Wheaton's three kills in the set. The Thunder never trailed in the set, with Moore registering five of her 12 kills in the final set.

Wheaton hosts Elmhurst this Friday at 7:00 p.m. in a conference match in King Arena.