Wheaton, Ill. - The Thunder volleyball team hosted Elmhurst (8-9, 1-2 CCIW) in King Arena on Friday night for a CCIW matchup with the Bluejays. Elmhurst topped Wheaton 3-1 in the match as the Bluejays won the first set 25-22 and took the second set 25-17. Wheaton was a 25-23 victor in the third set and Elmhurst closed out the match by winning the fourth set 25-21. Wheaton is now 10-7 on the season and 3-0 in CCIW play.

Colleen Smith led the Wheaton attack tonight with 15 kills and a .309 hitting percentage. Audrey Gerze tallied seven kills, with a .385 attack percentage. Senior Kelly Thornton added seven kills, with Madeline Moore adding six kills. Alecia Funk led Wheaton with 17 assists and Thornton had 16 assists. Senior Jess Bosse had 19 digs and Colleen Smith had 12 digs.

Bailey Brouwer led Elmhurst with 15 kills and Taylor Zurlirne added 13 kills. Kelly Townsend had a team-high 25 assists and Valerie Thomas led the Bluejays with 27 digs.

Wheaton recorded 43 kills tonight with 17 errors on 137 attempts for a .190 attack percentage. Elmhurst registered 55 kills with 24 errors on 153 attempts for a .203 attack percentage.

Elmhurst won the opening set 25-22. The Bluejays led early in the first set with a 7-3 advantage, however, Wheaton responded with a 9-2 run to give the Thunder a 12-9 lead. Elmhurst responded with its own run, a 6-2 surge, as the Bluejays regained the lead with a 15-14 advantage. Elmhurst maintained its lead for the remainder set as the guests earned the 25-22 victory.

Elmhurst won the second set 25-17. The opening points of the set were tightly contested as Wheaton led 10-9. The Bluejays scored six-consecutive to take a 16-10 lead and the guests never trailed in the set after that point.

Wheaton was a 25-23 victor in the third set. The set was tied 15-15 when Wheaton scored three-consecutive points to take an 18-15 lead. The Bluejays rallied with a 4-1 run to tie the set at 19-19. Wheaton responded with two points to gain a 21-19 lead. Elmhurst again tied the set at 21-21 with two-consecutive points. The Thunder scored three-consecutive points, beginning with a Colleen Smith kill to take a 24-21 lead. Elmhurst rallied to cut the Wheaton advantage to 24-23, but an Elmhurst service error gave Wheaton its 25th point.

The two squads battled back-and-forth in the fourth set. The matchup was tied at 20-20 when the Bleujays scored two-consecutive points to take a 22-20 lead. Wheaton scored a point to trim the guests' lead to 22-21, however, Elmhurst tallied the next three points to win 25-21.

Wheaton closes out its string of four-consecutive matches at home next Tuesday night when No. 14 University of Chicago visits King Arena at 7:00 p.m.