Olivet, Mich. -- The Wheaton volleyball team's third special weekend event of the 2022 season ended in the best possible fashion on Saturday afternoon, as the Thunder stormed past the Olivet Comets in three sets to put a ribbon on their trip to Michigan. Wheaton's record is now 7-4 on the year, and the team has one more nonconference road trip to come before conference play kicks into high gear.

The home side began the match by racing out to a 6-2 lead, but the Thunder responded by rattling off five straight points to regain the advantage, and from that point on there was only one team who looked like winning. The middle of the first set was competitive, but Wheaton managed to stretch their lead to 23-15 and just needed two more points to close out the first frame. Kills from Caroline Capps and Emerson Traweek off of two assists from Davis Whitehead provided the necessary scores, and Wheaton captured set one, 25-18. The Thunder registered the first six points of the second set to establish an important cushion, and this lead quickly ballooned up to a 15-4 tilt. Any attempt from the Comets to work their way back into the contest was quickly smothered by their guests, and Wheaton earned eight of the last 11 points in set two to double their advantage on the scoreboard. The service game played an important role in the second frame, as Wheaton secured three aces and Olivet committed four service errors to help the Thunder's cause. The third and final set was as dominant and one-sided as the Thunder could have hoped for with Wheaton scoring nine of the first ten points in the game and mounting a seven-point run to close out the match with a 25-7 set win. Davis Whitehead played the role of contest-finisher, as the freshman earned five straight service aces to wrap up the match and help Wheaton earn their fourth sweep of the fall season.

Whitehead collected a match-high 24 assists to go with the aforementioned five aces. Emerson Traweek led Wheaton with six service aces on the day to go with seven kills, six digs, and two blocks. Caroline Capps led all players with eight kills in the match, and the sophomore joined Traweek on six digs. Grace Autry posted a team-high 14 digs in Saturday's matchup and Naomi Bunker was the only player to generate four blocks in the contest. 

As the final score would suggest, Wheaton enjoyed significant statistical advantages over Olivet in today's meeting. The Thunder posted 29 kills to the Comets' 12, and Wheaton out-served their hosts by 12 aces. Both squads accounted for four blocks, but Wheaton's 28 assists and 35 digs far outpaced their opponents' numbers of 12 and 22, respectively. The Thunder earned a .254 hitting percentage for the match, including a sizzling .500 mark in the third set. Their defense was just as impressive, as Olivet was forced to accept a -.099 hitting mark across the three frames.

After earning two sweeps this weekend in nonconference play, Wheaton is back on the road on Tuesday evening as the team heads to Lake Forest College for a 7 PM matchup. After that, their CCIW schedule ramps up on Friday night with a meeting against North Central in Naperville. Read Full Article