Greencastle, Ind. - The Thunder volleyball team opened its 2024 season on Friday night with the first of three matches at the DePauw Volleyball Invitational. Wheaton earned a 3-0 victory against Spalding University in Friday's match. Wheaton rallied to win the first set 25-23, the Thunder topped Spalding 25-21 in the second set and Wheaton closed out the match with a 25-17 victory in the decisive third set.

Emerson Traweek led the Thunder with 13 kills, and a .333 attack percentage in the match. Caroline Capps had a stellar outing as she hit for a .435 attack percentage with 12 kills. Sydney Overweg contributed seven kills, hitting .357. 

Setter Lacey Higgins had a team-high 17 assists, while Paige Syswerda added 11 assists. Wheaton had eight service aces in the match as Sarah Sanderson, Ashton Major, and Traweek each had two aces apiece. 

Grace Autry led the Thunder with 17 digs. Katherine Adkison, Traweek, and Syswerda each recoded seven digs. Overweg led the Thunder with four total blocks.

The Eagles led early in the first set, with a 9-6 advantage. Spalding led 19-13 when Wheaton scored six-consecutive points to tie the opening set at 19-19. Traweek tallied consecutive service aces on Wheaton's final two serves of the 6-0 streak to tie the set at 19-19. The set was tied at 21-21 when the Thunder took a 23-21 advantage that was highlighted by a kill from Capps. The Thunder secured the win on a Spalding serve with Wheaton leading 24-23 as Overweg and Benford recorded a block to win the set. Capps had four kills in the set, with Adkison adding three. Autry had a set-high nine digs in the opening set.

The Thunder led 10-4 early in the second set. The Eagles countered with an 8-1 run to give Spalding a 12-11 lead. The Thunder led 20-19 and Wheaton closed out the set with a 5-2 run to earn a 25-21 win in the second set. Traweek had eight kills in the second set to lead the Thunder.

The Thunder jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set and never trailed in earning the 25-17 victory. Capps had a set-high seven kills in the third set, with Higgins distributing seven assists.

Wheaton closes out its participation in the tournament with two matches on Saturday. Wheaton takes on Capital University at 11:00 a.m. (EDT) to open the day. The Thunder close out the event at 1:30 p.m. (EDT) against the host Tigers of DePauw.