ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team upped its record to 4-0 by toppling Lake Forest College and 12th-ranked University of Chicago at the Elmhurst Invitational.

The Bluejays opened the day with a three-set win over Lake Forest before closing the tournament with a four-set victory over the 12th-ranked Maroons.

ELMHURST 3, LAKE FOREST 0 - Elmhurst moved to 3-0 on the season by making short work of Lake Forest with a 25-17, 25-8, 25-8 victory.

The Bluejays struggled out of the gate in the opening set, falling behind 13-7 to the Foresters. Elmhurst came alive with a 10-1 run to grab a 17-14 lead. The Bluejays closed on an 8-3 run to put the first set away.

Elmhurst breezed to identical 25-8 wins in the second and third sets to earn their third victory of the season.

Sam Szarmach powered the Bluejays' offense with 11 kills and seven digs while hitting .500 for the match (11-0-22). Marci Novak finished with nine kills and eight digs (hitting .350) while Kaitlyn Wilks totaled six kills and four blocks with a team-best .625 hitting percentage (6-1-8). Megan Reynolds added five kills and three blocks. After playing libero for the first two sets, Hannah Lessen totaled four kills in the third set to go along with seven digs. Katie Rueffer led the squad in assists with 17 while Lauren Lorenz totaled 11 assists and a team-best five service aces. The Bluejays hit .388 as a team, committing only seven errors in 85 attempts.

ELMHURST 3, CHICAGO 1 - The Bluejays defeated 12th-ranked Chicago 25-14, 25-15, 19-25, 25-11 to close out the tournament with an unblemished record.

Chicago (3-1) had no answer for Szarmach in the opening set as the Elmhurst outside hitter smashed 11 kills to lead the Bluejays to the 25-14 win. It was a similar story in the second set as Szarmach racked up six more kills to give Elmhurst a two-set advantage.

Chicago answered back in the third. The Maroons surged out in front and led by four points at 15-11 forcing the Bluejays to burn their second timeout of the set. Elmhurst responded with a 5-1 run to even the score at 16, but Chicago rattled off five straight points to pull ahead 21-16 and eventually scored the 25-19 win.

Leading 7-6 in the fourth set, Elmhurst ripped off 10 straight points behind Lorenz's serve to take a commanding 17-7 lead. The Bluejays pulled away to close out the set and the match.

Szarmach smashed a team-leading 22 kills and totaled 11 digs while hitting .400 (22-6-40). Novak reached double figures in kills with 10 while adding eight digs. Reynolds finished with eight kills and a match-high seven blocks while Wilks totaled six kills and four blocks. Shannon Burns added five kills for Elmhurst. Laurenz led the squad in assists with 25 while Rueffer totaled 17. Lessen recorded 13 digs while Dana Loncar added 11.

Szarmach, Novak and Wilks were all named to the all-tournament team for their performance over the two days. Szarmach totaled a team-high 54 kills (averaging 4.15 kills per set) while hitting .431. Wilks added 27 kills and 17 block (hitting .407) while Novak finished with 36 kills and 34 digs.

Elmhurst travels to Dominican University on Wednesday to take on the host Stars and 13th-ranked Wisconin-Whitewater.