LISLE, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team, ranked 16th in the latest AVCA Division III poll, upped its record to 28-6 on the season by defeating Bluffton College and Benedictine University at the Benedictine Invitational.
Elmhurst toppled Bluftton 25-17, 28-26, 25-22 in its opening contest and closed the day with a 25-19, 25-18, 25-14 win over Benedictine.
ELMHURST 3, BLUFFTON 0 -,Elmhurst opened the tournament with a three-set victory over Bluffton, recording its 27th victory in the process.
Elmhurst opened the first set by winning eight of the first 10 points to take a commanding six-point lead. The Bluejays led by as many as nine points and Bluffton came no closer than five points as Elmhurst pulled away for the 25-17 win.
The Bluejays led 16-13 midway through the second set, but Bluffton answered back with 10-6 run to take a 23-22 lead. Elmhurst evened the score at 23-all but a kill from Kendra Parmenter gave Bluffton a set point. A service error tied the score at 24-24 and kill from
Melissa Nava gave Elmhurst a chance to close out the set. Bluffton scored two straight points to serve for the set at 26-25, but an attack error on the Beavers pulled Elmhurst even. Back-to-back kills from
Shannon Burns and
Sam Szarmach handed the set to the Bluejays.
The third set was deadlocked at 21-21, but consecutive kills from Nava gave Elmhurst a 23-21 lead. A block from Nava and Szarmach gave Elmhurst a three-point cushion and set up match point for the Bluejays. Bluffton fought off the first match point, but a Szarmach kill sealed the win for Elmhurst.
Elmhurst hit .327 for the match with 50 kills and 14 errors in 110 attempts. Bluffton hit .192 with 35 kills and 16 errors in 99 swings.
Nava and Szarmach both reached double figures in kills. Nava tallied 14 kills while hitting .565 and adding three blocks. Szarmach tallied 13 kills to go with eight digs.
Hannah Nimrick chipped in with seven kills, 39 assists and five digs.
Jackie Pavilonis added four kills for the Bluejays while
Peggy Clemens tallied a team-best 12 digs.
Parmenter led Bluffton with 10 kills while Sara Roth totaled 33 assists and 10 digs.
ELMHURST 3, BENEDICTINE 0 - Elmhurst scored its second win of the season over Benedictine to improve to 28-6 on the season.
With the score tied in the first set at 11-11, the Bluejays closed closed the set on a 14-8 run to take the opening set.
With the score even at six in the second set, Elmhurst ripped off an 10-1 run behind Nimrick's serve. ,The Bluejays lengthened their lead to 11 before coasting to the 25-18 victory.
The Bluejays jumped all over the Eagles in the third, winning eight of the first nine points to grab a seven-point lead. Benedictine came as close as four points at 13-9, but the Bluejays responded with a 7-3 run to extend their lead to eight at 20-12. Back-to-back errors on Benedictine handed the set and the match to the Bluejays.
Elmhurst hit .299 for the match with 43 kills and 14 errors in 97 attempts. Pavilonis led the charge with 11 kills while hitting .643. Nava added eight kills and four blocks while Nimrick tallied seven kills, 33 assists and three blocks. Szarmach registered six kills and seven digs while Clemens led the squad in digs with 12.
Elmhurst takes on DePauw University and the University of Chicago during the second day of the tournament.
