Wheaton, Ill. -- The Wheaton volleyball team wrapped up the 2021 Thunder Quad Tournament with a 3-1 loss to #21 Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Saturday. The defeat halted Wheaton's winning run at six consecutive matches, and the Thunder will hope that this blip does not affect them as they resume conference competition this coming week.

The visiting Pointers came into the match on the back of a four-set victory over the Elmhurst Bluejays in a contest that was played immediately before the Wheaton clash. The head coach of Stevens Point made a tactical decision halfway through their first match of the day when she pulled her starters after winning the first two sets against Elmhurst. This proved to be a wise decision, as Wheaton were unable to use fresh legs to their advantage as they did in Friday's win over Wisconsin-Oshkosh. 

The first set got off to a back-and-forth start with Stevens Point managing an early 7-5 advantage. Wheaton responded by racking up five consecutive points off of three Pointer attack errors and two Naomi Bunker kills. But the home side's momentum proved short-lived as UWSP regained their composure and won 11 of the next 14 points to build a seemingly unassailable 18-13 lead. The Thunder mounted a late charge and kept the King Arena faithful on the edge of their seats by cutting the Pointers' lead to the narrowest of margins after a Colleen Smith collected a kill to make it 24-23. But Stevens Point responded with a kill of their own on the decisive exchange and secured the first set, 25-23. Curiously enough, the even nature of the set was reflected in the box score stat line, with both teams registering the exact same numbers in the opening game: 11 kills and nine errors off of 52 total attacks, good for a .038 hitting percentage for either side.

The second set saw the hosts come alive as Wheaton had their best performance of the day and sent a strong response to their ranked opponents. An early kill by Smith, followed by back-to-back attack errors from Stevens Point, helped Wheaton to a 5-2 lead, and from then on, the Pointers never regained the advantage in the set. Wheaton did have to fend off a four-point run in the middle of the game that saw their lead shrink to one point at 15-14, but the Thunder did not let the lapse cost them, as they bounced back to win the next three points. After a Stevens Point service error gifted Wheaton a 19-16 advantage, the hosts took six points from the next eight available to wrap the set up at a 25-18 scoreline. Wisconsin-Stevens Point's hitting percentage did improve marginally in the second set to .044, but this was not nearly enough to offset the Thunder's own growth to .209. Wheaton picked up 13 kills in the second game, and Smith led the way with four of them.

Wheaton had to be feeling good about their chances of winning the third set after their strong performance in the second and the always-significant home court advantage, but Stevens Point responded like the nationally-ranked team they are by turning around and winning the third set, 25-18. Before the Thunder could even blink, UWSP was already leading 7-2, and this early gap proved to be too much for the hosts to overcome. Wheaton picked up the pace in the middle of the set, and actually managed to cut Stevens Point's lead to one at 19-18. But just when it looked like the home side might complete a memorable comeback and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, the Pointers woke themselves from their slumber and rattled off the final six consecutive points of the set to win by seven. Stevens Point had their best hitting performance in the third set, putting up a .265 percentage and only three attack errors. Wheaton also posted their highest percentage of the match in set number three with .214, but only managed ten kills and 28 attacks.

It was clear to everyone inside King Arena that Stevens Point's late surge to claim the third set dampened some of the Thunder's momentum as they struggled to keep up with their guests in the fourth and final set. The Thunder earned an early 3-2 edge, but Stevens Point won the next three on offer and never looked back. This set was the third in a row to end with a 25-18 scoreline, and after the opening series of points, Wheaton never got within three. Stevens Point flexed their muscles down the stretch and brought Wheaton's winning streak to an end in impressive fashion. The Pointers registered a match-high 16 kills in the fourth set while Wheaton only posted nine in addition to six errors and a decreased .079 hitting percentage.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point finished the day with 50 kills and a total team hitting mark of .130. Ashley Kopp led all players with 12 kills across the four sets. Guresi Mena was close behind with 11 of her own and she added three blocks to her stat line. Kelsie Belfiori pitched in with six crucial service aces, and Grace Michalske tallied an impressive, match-high 42 assists. For Wheaton, Colleen Smith once again led the team in kills with 10 to her name. Allie High put a solid shift in, leading the squad in both aces (three) and digs (25). She joined teammate Marlee Anderson in the 1,000 club, albeit in a different statistical category, picking up her 1000th career dig in today's match. Anderson herself registered 20 assists across the four sets and Naomi Bunker led the way defensively for Wheaton with four blocks.

After going 1-1 in the Quad this weekend, Wheaton will look to bounce back quickly and return to winning ways when they host Augustana in a CCIW showdown on October 12th at 7 PM.