RIVER FOREST, Ill. - It was a late night at the Dominican University triangular, but the Elmhurst volleyball team emerged with a pair of hard-fought, five-set victories over 11th-ranked University of Chicago, and the host Dominican. 

Elmhurst, ranked 16th in the latest AVCA Division III poll, surrendered a two-set lead against Chicago before scoring a five-set victory. In the night cap against Dominican, the Bluejays rallied from a two-set deficit to secure a five-set victory and improve to 11-4 on the season.

ELMHURST 3, CHICAGO 2 - Elmhurst held off a late charge from 11th-ranked University of Chicago to score a 25-22, 25-22, 22-25, 17-25, 15-7 win over the Maroons.

Elmhurst grabbed the back-and-forth opening set, after turning an 18-17 lead into a 24-21 edge. Chicago held off one set point before a kill from Mel Lundin gave the Bluejays the first set at 25-22.

The Bluejays raced out to a 10-2 lead in the second set and held a 20-12 edge before holding off a rally from the Maroons. The Bluejays led 24-17 before Chicago turned away the Bluejays on five straight set points before a Mary Lawrence kill ended the set for Elmhurst.

Chicago broke a 7-7 tie in the third set and never looked back, extending their advantage to a four-point cushion before taking the set at 25-22. With the score tied at 12-all in the fourth set, Chicago closed on a 13-5 run to even the match at two sets apiece.

Elmhurst never trailed in the fifth set, scoring the first point and only allowing Chicago to pull even. Leading by just a point at 7-6, Elmhurst closed out the match with an 8-1 run. A block from Mary Lawrence and Hannah Nimrick closed out the match for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst finished the match hitting .212 with 60 kills and 24 errors in 170 attacks. Nimrick turned an impressive match, totaling 11 kills, 11 digs, 44 assists and six blocks. Alli Rogers powered the attack on the outside with 19 kills while Lawrence totaled 12 kills and six blocks from the middle. Shannon Burns added eight kill while Lundin finished with six kills and 16 digs. Amy Schryver led the Bluejays in digs with 18 while Peggy Clemens added 15.

Chicago hit .129 with 51 kills and 29 errors in 170 attempts. Maren Loe paced the Maroons in the loss with 25 kills and 13 digs.  Sarah Muisenga added nine kills while Ragine Graves tallied 41 assists and 20 digs. 

ELMHURST 3, DOMINICAN 2 - Elmhurst rallied from a two-set deficit to come away with a 22-25, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18, 15-8 victory in a match that took almost two hours to complete and ended after 11:00 p.m.

Dominican (9-5) jumped out to a quick lead after building a 16-11 lead in the opening set. The Stars extended their advantage to 21-14 and led by five at 24-19. Elmhurst fought off three set points before dropping the set 25-22.

The Bluejays led for the majority of the second set before fading late. The Bluejays seemed in control with a six-point lead at 19-13. Dominican cut Elmhurst's lead down to three points at 21-18, but a kill from Lundin put the Bluejays in front 22-18. Elmhurst held a 23-21 lead after a Dominican error, but the Stars won the next four points to steal the set at 25-23. 

Elmhurst once again built an early lead in the third, set taking a six-point lead at 19-13. Dominican rallied once again, rattling off an 8-3 run to pull to within a point at 22-21, but back-to-back errors on the stars and a block from Lawrence and Nimrick gave the Bluejays the third set at 25-21.

The fourth set was even at 10-10 after the first 20 points. Elmhurst led 16-15 before closing the set on a 9-3 run to send the match to a decisive fifth set.

The final set was even at 6-6 before Elmhurst took control. Back-to-back kills from Lawrence put the Bluejays in front 8-6 as the two squads switched sides of the court. Dominican closed to within a point at 8-7, but Elmhurst closed out the set with a 7-1 run aided by four Dominican errors. A Nimrick kill capped the Bluejays' comeback and the match.

The Bluejays finished the match hitting .241 with 64 kills and 24 errors in 166 swings. Nimrick posted her second straight triple-double, finishing with 16 kills, 43 assists and 14 digs. Rogers added 14 kills while Lawrence totaled 12 kills and four blocks. Lundin added nine kills while Hannah Davis chipped in with seven kills and four blocks. Schryver tallied a team-best 22 digs while Clemens chipped in with 13.

Five players reached double-figures in kills to pace Dominican in the loss. Alex Kisten led the way with 13 while Carri Chambers, Tessa Griparis and Kendyl Todd totaled 11 kills apiece. Caitlen Foote led the squad in digs with 24 while Christina Wilson tallied 53 assists and 14 digs in the loss.

Elmhurst hosts the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Friday, September 25.