ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst volleyball team split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Elmhurst College Invitational.
 
Elmhurst (10-16) dropped its opening match in three sets to 20th-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater before winning a five-set marathon against Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the night cap.
 
UW-WHITEWATER 3, ELMHURST 0 – Elmhurst dropped its opening contest to #20 Wisconsin-Whitewater 25-12, 25-17, 25-21.
 
Elmhurst grabbed an early lead in the opening set at 3-1 before Whitewater roared back with a 7-0 run to take an 8-3 lead. The Warhawks never trailed the rest of the way, cruising to the 13-point victory while hitting .419 for the set. Whitewater never trailed in the second, building a 10-5 lead after the first 15 points and slowly pulling away. The Warhawks hit .448 for the set while pulling away for the eight-point win.
 
The third set was hard fought by both squads. With neither team leading by more than two points for the first 28 points. With the score even at 14-14, Whitewater used a 4-0 run to take control of the set. The Bluejays closed to within two points at 21-19 and again at 22-20, but Elmhurst came no closer as Whitewater put the set and the match away.
 
Elmhurst hit .126 for the contest with 31 kills and 18 errors in 103 swings. Bailey Brouwer led Elmhurst's offense with nine kills while Payton Froats chipped in with six kills. Alexandra Tyggum and Kayla Mast tallied five kills apiece for the Bluejays while Emily Duis finished with four kills and a team-high four blocks. Kelly Townsend led the squad in assists with 30 while Valerie Thomas and Molly Brennan added eight digs apiece.
 
Emma Aske led Whitewater with 10 kills while KellyAnn Sotiros finished with 20 assists.
 
ELMHURST 3, UW-STEVENS POINT 2 – Elmhurst ended a seven-game slide with a thrilling 19-25, 25-21, 25-22, 23-25, 15-7 win over UW-Stevens Point.
 
The first set was tightly contest as the score was deadlocked at 17-17. Stevens Point rattled off a 5-0 run behind Emma Peterson's serve to open up a 22-17 lead. The Pointers closed the set with a 3-2 run for the 25-19 win.
 
The second set was even at 10-all after the first points, but Elmhurst used a 7-2 run to open up a five-point cushion. The Pointers fought back to a two-point deficit at 22-20, but Elmhurst finished off the set with a 3-1 run.
 
The Bluejays jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third set and led again at 18-13 before Stevens Point slowly chipped away at the lead, pulling to within a point at 21-20 and again at 22-21. The Pointers pulled even at 22-all, but a Bailey Brouwer kill put Elmhurst back in front at 23-22. An error on UW-Stevens Point gave the Bluejays a set point. Brouwer and Emily Duis combined for a block to give Elmhurst the third set at 25-22 and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The fourth set was even at 15-15, but a 4-0 run from Stevens Point forced Elmhurst to burn its second timeout. The Pointers pushed their lead up to five at 20-15, but Elmhurst ripped off the next four straight points to pull to within one and force the Pointers to burn their final timeout. The Bluejays scored the next point out of the timeout to pull even at 20-20. The two teams traded the next two points before the Pointers scored two straight to take a 23-21 lead. The Bluejays scored the next two points to match the Pointers at 23, but Stevens Point used a kill and a block to take the set and set up a fifth set.
 
The fifth set was tight from the start as neither team led by more than two at the side change. The Pointers built a 6-4 lead but Elmhurst scored the next three to force Stevens Point to call a timeout An error on the Pointers gave the Bluejays an 8-6 cushion at the side change. The Bluejays used a 3-1 run to push their lead to 11-7 and force the Pointers to burn their last timeout. Elmhurst won the next four points to close out the set and the match.
 
Elmhurst hit .173 for the contest with 61 kills and 29 errors in 185 attempts. Bailey Brouwer led Elmhurst with 14 kills and four blocks while Taylor Zurliene added 12 kills and 15 digs. Alexandra Tyggum added nine kills while Payton Froats finished with six kills and five blocks. Kelly Townsend tallied seven kills, 39 assists and 16 digs while Emily Duis finished with seven kills and three blocks. Valerie Thomas added 14 digs for Elmhurst in the win.
 
April Gehl led UW-Stevens Point with 19 kills in the loss.
 
Elmhurst closes out the two-day tournament by hosting Aurora University tomorrow (October 20) at 2:00 pm)