PICTURED ABOVE: Colleen Smith tallied 11 kills against UW-Oshkosh in Tuesday night's opening match.

Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton Thunder volleyball team (5-0) opened its Wheaton Tri-Match on Tuesday with a 3-0 victory in King Arena against UW-Oshkosh (3-2). The Thunder closed out the event with a 3-0 win (25-13, 25-17, 25-13) against Edgewood College (1-5). Wheaton is now 5-0 to start the season for the first time in more than 25 years; and has yet to drop a set this year.

Wheaton's victory  in the opening match against UW-Oshkosh was a 25-21, 25-12, 25-18 win over the Titans. Madeline Moore and Colleen Smith each contributed 11 kills in the match to lead the Thunder attack. Kelly Thornton tallied nine kills, with Ellie Brown and Deborah Smith each tallying five kills. Alecia Funk had a team-high 16 assists and Thornton added 15. Libero Jess Bosse tallied a team-high 18 digs and Smith registered 14 digs. Ellie Brown had six assisted blocks and one solo block, with Colleen Smith putting up six assisted blocks.

Wheaton rallied to win the first set against the Titans 25-21. UW-Oshkosh led 7-0 early in the set. The Thunder gradually chipped away at the Titans' lead to tie the set at 12-12. Kills by Ellie Brown and and Moore snapped a 17-17 tie to give the Thunder a 19-17 advantage. Wheaton led for the rest of the set. The Titans cut Wheaton's lead to 21-20 when the Thunder put together a 4-1 run to close out the set 25-21.

In Wheaton's 25-12 victory in the second set, it was Wheaton that scored the early 4-0 lead. The Titans tied the set at 5-5, but Wheaton responded with an 8-2 scoring edge to give the hosts a 13-7 lead. Colleen Smith collected three kills in the run, with two apiece for Moore and Thornton. Wheaton continued to cruise to the 25-12 victory in the set.

In the final set, a 25-18 victory for the Thunder, Wheaton jumped out to an 8-3 lead. The hosts never trailed in the set and following Wheaton's 8-5 advantage the Titans never got closer than four points for the remainder of the set.

Wheaton dominated Edgewood to earn the 3-0 victory against Eagles in the finale tonight. The Thunder posted a .388 attack percentage with 36 kills on 85 attempts, with just three errors. Moore (PICTURED LEFT) led the Thunder with nine kills, posting a .348 attack percentage in the match. Thornton had a .545 attack percentage on six kills and Colleen Smith posted a .312 attack percentage with six kills. Smith also had three service aces. Thornton distributed 16 assists and Alecia Funk had 12. Senior Jess Bosse led the Thunder with 14 digs and Ellie Brown had a solo block with four assisted blocks.

Wheaton never trailed in the first set, winning 25-13. The Thunder gained an early 7-1 lead and led by at least six points throughout the remainder of the set.

Edgewood's only lead of the night was 3-2 advantage for the Eagles early in the second set. Wheaton responded to take an 8-6 lead and never trailed after that.

Wheaton scored the first five points of the third set and led throughout. Wheaton extended its lead to 15-4 midway through the set on its way to a 25-13 victory.

The Thunder travels to Arlington, Virginia this weekend to participate in the Marymount University Invitational. Wheaton faces Washington College (Md.) and Randolph-Macon in Friday's opening round of play.