ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst volleyball team suffered its first CCIW loss of the season, falling 25-23, 25-23, 28-26 to Wheaton College.

Elmhurst, ranked ninth in the latest AVCA Division III Top-25 poll, dropped to 21-3 overall and 1-1 in the CCIW. Wheaton improved to 6-12 overall and 2-0 in league play.

The Bluejays started strong in the opening set, racing out to an 11-3 lead before the Thunder turned things around. Wheaton pulled to within points at 19-15 before using a 6-0 run to grab a 21-19 cushion. The Bluejays closed to within a point at 22-21 and again at 22-23, but a kill from Lindsay Stein gave the Thunder a pair of set points. After an error by Wheaton, a kill from Katie Rohrer gave the Thunder the first set.

The second set was back-and-forth with Wheaton building up an 18-16 lead. Once again, the Bluejays pulled to within a point at 23-22, but a kill from Knowles gave the Thunder two set points. A kill from Sam Szarmach fought off one point, but an Andy DeMoss kill gave the Thunder a two-set advantage.

Wheaton jumped out to a 16-11 lead in the third set before Elmhurst pulled even at 21-21. Wheaton rattled off three straight points to take a 24-21 lead. The Thunder thought they had the match won, but a Hannah Nimrick dig kept a play alive and the Bluejays grabbed the point on a Wheaton error. An ace and a kill from Peggy Clemens pulled the Bluejays even at 24-24. The two teams traded points to keep the score even at 25-25. A Wheaton error gave Elmhurst a set point at 26-25, but an Elmhurst error evened the match at 26-all. A kill from Ashley Torok and a block from DeMoss and Lindsay Stein sealed the match for the Thunder.

Elmhurst hit .173 for the match with 46 kills and 24 errors in 127 attempts. Wheaton finished the match hitting .191 with 39 kills and 17 errors in 115 attempts. Wheaton's defense was the key to the match as the Thunder totaled 13 blocks and 51 digs. Elmhurst managed just four blocks in the loss.

Jackie Pavilonis led Elmhurst in the loss with 13 kills and two blocks. Szarmach added 10 kills, eight digs and a pair of blocks. Melissa Nava and Nimrick totaled eight kills apiece. Nimrick led the squad in assists with 27 while Amy Schryver totaled a team-leading 13 digs. Clemens added 11 digs in the loss.

Knowles paced Wheaton's attack with 15 kills and 20 digs. DeMoss added six kills and eight blocks while Stein tallied seven points and six blocks for the Thunder.  Torok totaled 23 assists for Wheaton in the win.

Elmhurst will look to get back on track when the Bluejays host the Elmhurst Invitational on October 10-11.