ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst volleyball team closed out its final match at the Elmhurst Invitational by suffering a 25-21, 25-21, 25-11 loss to 19th-ranked Hope College.

Elmhurst and Hope traded points for much of the first set with Hope (8-4) holding a slim 19-18 lead. Hope held its lead at 21-20, but the Flying Dutch rattled off four of the next five points to take the set 25-21. 

Hope built a five-point lead at 16-11 in th second only for the Bluejays to close to within two points at 19-17. Hope was able to hold of the Bluejays' rally to take the second set 25-21.

Elmhurst (3-7) started quickly in the third, building an 11-8 advantage and forcing Hope to burn a timeout. Things went downhill quickly after the timeout as a service error gave Hope the ball back trailing by 11-9. The Flying Dutch scored the next 16 points behind the serve of Gabbi Vachon to take the set 25-21. Seven Elmhurst errors and a pair of aces helped Hope close with the strong run.

Mel Lundin, Alli Rogers and Stacie Harms totaled four kills apiece for the Bluejays. Amy Schryver registered 11 digs while Kelly Townsend finished with a team-leading 10 assists.

Elmhurst opens CCIW play on Tuesday, September 19, by hosting Carroll University.