Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst College volleyball team rolled to a pair of three-set victories over Benedictine University and Carroll University to improve to 5-1 on the season.

ELMHURST 3, BENEDICTINE 0 – Elmhurst picked up their fourth victory of the season by with a 25-13, 25-14, 25-20 win over Benedictine.

Trailing 8-5 in the opening set, the Bluejays ripped off an 8-1 run to jump out to a 16-9 cushion before cruising to the 25-13 win. Elmhurst opened the second set on a 10-5 run and never looked back, taking control with a two-set advantage. The Bluejays built a quick 13-4 lead in the third set before fending off a late run from Benedictine to put the match away in three sets.

Elmhurst hit .317 as a team with 39 kills and 13 errors in 82 attacks. Benedictine struggled with its hitting, finishing with 15 kills and 15 errors in 71 attempts (.000 hitting percentage).
 

Sam Szarmach led a balanced Elmhurst attack with nine kills and six digs. Jackie Pavilonis and Melissa Nava added eight kills apiece for the Bluejays. Nava added three aces and three blocks in the victory. Mary Lawrence chipped in with six kills while hitting .500 for the match. Hannah Nimrick tallied 22 assists in three aces while playing in just the first two sets.

Erin Weigand, Beckie Whitmarsh and Abby Screnock paced Benedictine with three kills apiece in the loss.

ELMHURST 3, CARROLL 0 – Elmhurst improved to 5-1 on the season with a 25-11, 25-11, 25-19 victory over Carroll.

It was all Elmhurst early, as the Bluejays scored the first 10 points of the opening set behind the serve of Alli Rogers.  Elmhurst coasted the 25-11 win in the opening set.  The Bluejays came out with a similar start to the second set, scoring eight of the first 10 points before pulling away for the 25-11 win. The Bluejays trailed briefly in the third set at 8-7, but a Carroll service error and five straight points behind Szarmach's serve put Elmhurst on top 13-8. The Pioneers pulled to within three points, but the Bluejays slowly put the set and the match away with a 25-19 win.
 

Elmhurst hit .337 as a as a team with 41 kills and 13 errors in 83 attempts. Carroll finished with only nine kills and 16 errors (-.106 hitting percentage) in 66 attempts.

Szarmach and Nava led the charge for the Bluejays as each player reached double figures in kills. Szarmach hit .524 and finished with 13 kills and five aces while Nava added 10 kills and three blocks. Rogers added five kills while Nimrick, Pavilonis and Lawrence totaled four kills apiece. Peggy Clemens led the squad in digs with 13.

Kelly Sloyan led Carroll in the loss with three kills.

Elmhurst, ranked 16th in the latest AVCA Division III poll, hosts Dominican University and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in a triangular on September 9.