ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst University women's volleyball team took a pair of matches over Lake Forest and Benedictine Saturday afternoon inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

Elmhurst (8-1, 0-1 CCIW) started the day with a 3-0 sweep over Benedictine University (IL), using a pair of nine kill performances from Lucy Anderson and Jada Wiley to handle the Eagles (5-4, 1-0 NACC). Payton Ceh took in 16 digs in the match, while Elise Rossing tallied seven kills and a trio of block assists. Kellyn Kennedy and Aly Reardon also provided three service aces each.

Both teams were even to open the match, with the score standing at nine each before a 7-3 run opened a three-point Bluejay lead. The Eagles ended up rallying to take a 20-19 lead late, but a kill from Wiley and Anderson along with a Benedictine hitting error gave Elmhurst a 23-22 lead. Kali Phillips delivered a pair of kills to end set one in favor of the Bluejays, 25-23.

The Eagles roared out of the gates to lead early in the second set, but an 8-2 Bluejay run opened an 18-10 lead. From there, errors plagued the Eagles in the waning moments of the second set, allowing Elmhurst to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-13 second set win. The Bluejays cruised from there, taking the third set 25-19 to secure the sweep.

Elmhurst faced their longest match yet in the second game of the day against Lake Forest (5-2, 0-0 MWC), needing five sets to decide the non-conference battle. The Bluejays were led by a pair of double-double performances from Wiley (15 kills, 12 digs) and Aly Reardon (12 kills, 11 digs, four service aces), while Kennedy provided 31 assists in the match and Ceh tallied 23 digs. 

Elmhurst cruised to a 25-14 set one victory over the Foresters, but the visitors roared back to even the match at one set a piece with a 25-16 set two win. A balanced offense led the Bluejays to take the third set, 25-19, but service errors hurt Elmhurst in the fourth, allowing Lake Forest to take the fourth set by a score of 25-23 and sending the Bluejays into their first five-set battle of the 2023 season.

The Bluejays responded in a huge way, with Kennedy leading an 8-0 fifth set opening run at the service line, tallying a pair of aces in the run, and the Bluejays held the Foresters to just two points in the fifth set for a 15-2 fifth set victory and a 3-2 match win. 

UP NEXT

The Bluejays will host the North Park Vikings in their CCIW home opener on Wednesday, Sep. 20 at 6:00 p.m. inside R.A. Faganel Hall.

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