ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team slipped to 22-4 on the season after dropping a five-set nail-biter to 12th-ranked University of St. Thomas.
Elmhurst jumped out to a 2-0 lead but couldn't hang on, falling 25-15, 25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 11-25. St. Thomas upped its record to 17-4 win the win.
The Bluejays came out strong in the opening set, using a 6-0 run to turn an 11-11 tie into a 17-11 lead. The Bluejays extended their lead to nine at 22-13 after a kill from
Melissa Nava. An ace from
Kerry Swain put the opening set away for the Bluejays at 25-15.
The two squads traded points for much of the second set with the score being deadlocked at 14-14. Elmhurst used a 6-3 run to grab a 20-17 lead after a kill from
Alli Rogers. The Bluejays extended their lead to six at 24-18 before St. Thomas fought off four straight set points to pull to within two points at 24-22. A kill from
Sam Szarmach sealed ended the Tommies' run and closed out the second set at 25-22 for the Bluejays.
St. Thomas came out strong in the third set, turning an 8-6 deficit into a 12-8 lead behind six straight points behind the serve of Taylor Lewis. St. Thomas extended its lead to seven points at 24-17 before putting away the set at 25-20.
The two squads traded points for the majority of the fourth set. St. Thomas built a 17-14 advantage, but the Bluejays ripped off three straight points to even the score at 17. The score remained even at 20-20 before an ace from Szarmach put Elmhurst in front 21-20. St. Thomas answered back with kills from Lewis, Whitney Lloyd and Kelly Biermann to take a 23-21 lead. Lewis added another kill to give the Tommies a set point at 24-21, but a kill from
Shannon Burns and an ace from
Jackie Pavilonis pulled Elmhurst to within a point. Lewis smashed down a kill on the ensuing point to hand the set to the Tommies at 25-23.
Elmhurst started strong in the fifth set, building an 8-6 lead at the side change. St. Thomas answered back with three straight points to take a 9-8 lead. Elmhurst evened the score at 9-9 after a kill from
Melissa Nava, but the Tommies scored the next three points to grab a 12-9 lead. Elmhurst pulled to within two points at 13-11, but a kill by Kelly Foley and an error on Elmhurst wrapped up the set (15-11) and the match for the Tommies.
Elmhurst hit .248 for the match with 63 kills and 24 errors in 157 attacks. St. Thomas finished the match hitting .288 with 66 kills and 22 errors in 153 swings. Both teams recorded eight blocks.
Nava led Elmhurst's offense with 16 kills and three blocks. Szarmach added 14 kills and 11 digs while Pavilonis totaled 11 kills and four blocks.
Hannah Nimrick totaled a match-high 46 assists to go with 10 digs and seven kills. Rogers finished with eight kills while Burns chipped in with four.
Peggy Clemens led the squad in digs with 16.
Foley carried the Tommies in the win, pounding down 24 kills while hitting .742 in the match. She added a team-leading four blocks in the victory. Jill Greenfield added 14 kills and 13 digs while Lloyd and Lewis finished with 10 kills apiece. Maddie Reese tallied 30 assists and 12 digs for the Tommies.
Elmhurst takes on Bethany College and Juniata College tomorrow (October 11).
