ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst volleyball team scored its first win of the 2018 season by defeating Lake Forest College in four sets.
 
Elmhurst (1-4) downed Lake Forest (2-3) by scores of 22-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-15.
 
Elmhurst trailed by as many as four points early in the opening set before rallying to grab 20-18 lead following a Lake Forest error. The Foresters answered back with a 5-0 run to open up a 23-20 lead. Elmhurst fought off one set point before falling 25-22.
 
The Bluejays raced out to a fast start in the second, scoring seven of the first 10 points to build a quick 7-3 lead. Elmhurst led by as many as six points at 23-17 before back-to-back kills from Kaye Lesure gave the Bluejays the set at 25-17 and evened the match at a set apiece.
 
Elmhurst once again built an early lead in the third set before holding off a late charge form the Foresters. The Bluejays led 19-13 after a kill from Katie Davis, but the Foresters used a 9-3 run to knot the score at 22-all. A kill from Taylor Zurliene put Elmhurst in front 23-22 and back-to-back errors from Lake Forest handed Elmhurst the third set at 25-22.
 
The fourth set was tightly contest for the first 25 points with Elmhurst holding a slim 13-12 lead. Elmhurst led 14-13 before ripping off the next nine points to take a commanding 23-13 lead. Kills from Cyle Harrison and Bailey Brouwer helped the Bluejays put away the set and the match.
 
Elmhurst hit .193 for the match with 47 kills and 21 errors in 135 swings. Lake Forest hit just .099 with 40 kills and 26 errors in 142 swings.
 
Brouwer led Elmhurst in the win, finishing with 12 kills and four aces. Zurliene added eight kills and eight digs while Froats and Lesure totaled six kills apiece. Froats added a team-leading six blocks in the victory. Molly Brennan added five kills for the Bluejays. Kelly Townsend finished with a team-leading 23 assists while Katie Davis finished with 13. Rachel Shuty led the squad in digs with 16 while Valerie Thomas also reached double figures in digs, finishing with 13.
 
Grace Larson paced Lake Forest in the loss with 11 kills and 11 digs. Olivia Rhodes added 10 kills while Emily Witz totaled 20 digs for the Foresters.
 
Elmhurst plays at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Invitational this weekend (September 7-8).