Winona, Minn. – The Wheaton Thunder volleyball team remained undefeated on Friday by picking up two wins in the opening day of action at the Sugar Loaf Classic, hosted by Saint Mary's University (Minn.) Wheaton defeated both Beuna Vista (Iowa) and Saint Mary's (Minn.) by 3-0 scores. The Thunder improve to 5-0 on the season with Friday's sweeps.

Wheaton opened its participation in Friday's tournament with a 3-0 victory against Buena Vista. The Thunder opened with a 25-20 victory against the Beavers, followed a come-from-behind 29-27 victory in the second set. Wheaton closed out the sweep with a convincing 25-11 victory in the third set.

Senior Jordan Benford led the Thunder with 14 kills in posting a .300 attack percentage. Katherine Adkison added eight kills, while Paris Griffin, Lacey Higgins and Ashton Major each recorded six kills. Major had a stellar .750 attack percentage in the match. Lacey Higgins led the Thunder with 21 assists, and Reese Donahoe added 17 assists. Grace Autry impressed with 21 digs and Higgins added 11 digs. Major and freshman Mary Hamann each had three assisted blocks in the victory.

The Thunder defeated St. Mary's (Minn.) 3-0 as Wheaton picked up a 25-19 victory in the opening set. Wheaton won the second set 25-19 and the Thunder closed out the win with a 25-13 victory in the third set.
Benford again was Wheaton's kills leader as she tallied 13, with a .370 attack percentage. Griffin recorded eight kills, while Adkison and Major each had six. Higgins tallied 24 assists to lead the way for the Thunder. Autry recorded 13 digs and freshman Miriam Pozdol-Niego added 12 digs. Major tallied four total blocks, including two solo blocks, while Faith Bailey added two solo blocks.

Wheaton returns to action early Saturday morning with a 9:00 a.m. matchup against Martin Luther College. The Thunder close out the tournament at 11:00 a.m. against Luther College. Wheaton hosts Rockford next Tuesday evening in King Arena to begin a busy week at home. The week continues on Wednesday against Concordia (Wis.) and hits its peak on Friday and Saturday as the Thunder host the Marilyn Scribner Invitational.