Wheaton, Ill. – The Wheaton volleyball team hosted North Central on Saturday afternoon for a key CCIW matchup. Both teams entered the match with a 2-0 record in conference play and were the lone undefeated teams in conference play. Wheaton emerged with the 3-1 victory against the Cardinals (6-4, 2-1 CCIW) as the Thunder improve to 10-7 overall and 3-0 in CCIW play.
Wheaton won the first set 25-14 and top the Cardinals 25-16 in the second set. North Central defeated Wheaton 25-23 in the third set, but Wheaton closed out the win with a 25-16 victory in the fourth set. Wheaton had 50 kills today, posting a .298 attack percentage.
Colleen Smith led the Thunder with 12 kills.
Audrey Gerze tallied 10 kills on .333 attack percentage and
Ashton Major recorded 10 kills with a .381 attack percentage.
Caroline Capps recorded nine kills. Gerze had four service aces and a team-high 15 digs. Setters
Marlee Anderson and
Mia Staub each had 19 assists for the hosts. Libero
Allie High had 12 digs.
Wheaton impressed in the first set, winning 25-14. The Thunder led the Cardinals 13-10, but the hosts put together a 10-3 run to take a 23-13 lead. Smith (PICTURED LEFT) had two kills and a service ace in the Wheaton run.
The Thunder won the second set 25-16. Wheaton scored the first seven points in the second set and led for the entire set.
North Central won the third set 25-23. The Cardinals gained a 7-2 lead early in the set. Wheaton battled back to tie the set at 13-13, however, the Cardinals regained the lead and built it out to a 17-14 NCC lead. Wheaton again battled back and led 21-20. The Cardinals rallied to close out the set and take the 25-23 victory.
The Thunder closed out the match with a 25-16 victory in the fourth set. The set was tied 6-6 when Wheaton out-scored the Cardinals 7-2 to take a 13-8 lead. The Thunder never relinquished its advantage after that point. Capps and Major each had two kills in the key run. Major recorded the kill to record the final point for Wheaton and give the 'Orange and Blue' sole possession of first place.
Wheaton remains in conference play for its next contest. The Thunder travel to Millikin on Wednesday, October 6 for a 7:00 p.m. match against the Big Blue.
