Wheaton, Ill. -- The last of three consecutive home matches for the Wheaton volleyball team took place in King Arena on Saturday afternoon, and today's contest against the Hope Flying Dutch was also Senior Day for the two veteran players on Wheaton's roster. The 15th-ranked Flying Dutch won the match in three sets, 25-22, 25-21, 25-21. Wheaton's record is now 8-8 on the season, and the team will return to conference action next week.
Allie High and
Naomi Bunker were the Wheaton seniors who were recognized today, and both players posted solid performances. High led the Thunder in digs once again with 18 to her name through the three sets and registered four assists.
Naomi Bunker added four more blocks to her team-leading total this season and also contributed a service ace.
Emerson Traweek posted the most kills for Wheaton in today's contest with 11 and also picked up a pair of blocks.
Davis Whitehead continued her notable freshman season form by again leading the way in the service position with three aces and collecting a team-best 16 assists as well as earning nine digs.
Caroline Capps registered nine kills and two aces.
As a team, Wheaton posted an attack percentage of .118 for the match. While they did not out-score their visitors from Michigan, they did record more aces than Hope and the same number of blocks as the Flying Dutch today with differentials of 7-5 and 8-8, respectively.
The first set of Saturday's matchup was characterized by mini-runs for both teams as neither side fully seized the momentum and managed to pull away. Three straight Thunder points towards the end of the frame cut Hope's lead down to 22-21, but the guests scored three of the final four points to secure a 25-22 first set win. The home side got off to a 4-1 advantage in the second set, but the Flying Dutch rattled off four straight points to reclaim the lead and Wheaton was forced to play catch-up from that point on. Hope survived another three-point rally from the Thunder in the closing stretch, and the visitors claimed the second set at 25-21. The third and final frame was decided by the same scoreline, as Hope won the first four points of the set and came back from 16-11 down in the middle of the game to earn the non-conference sweep over their hosts.
Next up for the Thunder is a trip into the city on Wednesday night. North Park will host Wheaton in a CCIW contest that is scheduled to begin at 7 PM.
