Elmhurst Stops 11th-Ranked Eastern in Five

Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - Hannah Nimrick totaled 18 kills and 33 assists to lead the 13th-ranked Elmhurst volleyball team to a five-set victory over 11th-ranked Eastern University.

Elmhurst (14-1) won its 11th straight contest with the 25-23, 26-24, 15-25, 23-25, 15-11 victory over Eastern (13-3).

The Bluejays won a tight first-set breaking a 15-15 tie with a 6-2 run. Eastern answered back to tie the score at 23-all, but kills from Alli Rogers and Nimrick put the set away for Elmhurst. The Bluejays built a 15-9 lead in the second set, but Eastern again came back, knotting the score at 21-21. A block from Melissa Nava and Nimrick gave Elmhurst a 25-24 cushion and Nimrick put the set away with an ace.

Things looked promising for the Bluejays early in the third with a 9-5 lead, but Eastern ripped of 12 straight points behind the serve of Erin Hillman to pull away for a 16-9 lead before cruising to the 25-15 win. Eastern used a 5-3 run in the fourth set to turn an 18-18 score into a three-point lead. The Eagles put the set away at 25-23 to force a decisive fifth set.

Elmhurst raced out to a quick 7-2 lead in the fifth, but Eastern responded with a 10-2 run to build a 10-9 cushion. The Bluejays eved the match at 11-11 and back-to-back kills from Sam Szarmach and Nimrick gave Elmhurst a 13-11 cushion. Consecutive attack errors from Eastern handed Elmhurst the victory.

Nimrick led Elmhurst's offense in the attack, finishing with a career-high 18 kills while adding 33 assists, 2 digs and three blocks. Nava added 14 kills and seven blocks while Jackie Pavilonis contributed 11 kills and three blocks. Szarmach added seven kills for the Bluejays while Peggy Clemens led the squad in digs with 19.

Eastern's offense was led by Katrina Pisch's 19 kills. Lauren Sproles added 13 kills for the Eagles while Rikki Schlager totaled 52 assists.

Elmhurst takes on 14th-ranked College of St. Benedict in its final match of the Elmhurst Invitational.

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