GAME STATS Wheaton, Ill. - An unusual season came to a thrilling end on Friday night at King Arena. Playing the season finale of an abbreviated spring season, the Thunder volleyball team stamped its season with an emphatic upset, giving third-ranked Carthage its first CCIW loss of the season with a four-set victory. The victory brings Wheaton's spring season to a close with a 3-3 record. Carthage finishes its year with a record of 11-2.

Wheaton sent the message early that they would not back down from the Firebirds, breaking a 7-all tie with a 5-1 run to lead 12-8 on Naomi Bunker's kill. Wheaton maintained its edge, pushing ahead to 19-13 following a Carthage attack error. The Firebirds found their footing and rallied to tie the match at 23 on consecutive service aces by Molly Skoda. Audrey Gerze broke the inital tie, but Carthage answered to pull even at 24. Naomi Bunker answered with a kill and Mia Staub brought the set to a swift conclusion with a service ace to give Wheaton a 26-24 victory that saw the Thunder overcome seven attack errors.

Carthage flipped the script in set two, opening on a service ace and using an 8-0 run to take a 10-5 lead early on. That lead held late into the set with the Firebirds leading 20-13 before Wheaton came roaring back. After breaking serve, Audrey Gerze collected two kills in a five-point run to pull within 20-18. After two quick Carthage points, Mia Staub sandwiched a pair of service aces around a Carthage attack error to pull even at 22-22 and cap an extended 9-2 Thunder run. The score would tie again at 23, but the Carthage attack connected on consecutive rallies to end set two at 25-23 in favor of the Firebirds.

Set three did not see the runs that highlighted the first two sets with neither team leading by more than four points in the set. Staub's service again sparked the Thunder, leading to an 8-4 lead after four straight points. Cartahge chipped away at the lead and pulled even at 14, but Wheaton did not let the guests pull ahead, answering with three straight points to lead 17-14. Carthage closed within two points down the stretch at 23-21, but kills by Bunker and Gerze slammed the door on a 25-21 third set fictory for the Thunder.

The fourth set followed the same script as set three with the teams alternating points en route to a 10-10 tie. Colleen Smith marked a quick three-point sprint for the Thunder with one of her team-high seven service aces, giving Wheaton some breathing room at 16-11. Leading 18-14 later in the set, Audrey Gerze broke a Carthage serve with on eof her 14 kills and served Wheaton to three more unanswered points, pushing the Thunder out to a 21-14 advantage. Wheaton matched its largest lead of the night at 24-17 before Briley Brogan closed out the match with a kill at 25-19. Wheaton finished the night with an impressive .256 attack percentage in the final set.

Naomi Bunker led three Thunder players with double digit kills, tallying a team-high 15 kills. Audrey Gerze and Colleen Smith each finished with 14 kills with Smith adding seven service aces and six digs and Gerze chipping in eight digs. Allie High anchored the Thunder defense with 30 kills and four assists. Marlee Anderson engineered the highly-efficient Thunder attack with 45 assists to go with 10 digs.