ELMHURST, Ill. - Elmhurst volleyball battled Aurora through five tightly contested sets but came up just short in a 3–2 loss (22–25, 25–22, 20–25, 25–22, 14–16) Friday night at R.A. Faganel Hall in their Elmhurst Invitational opener.

The Bluejays found themselves in a back-and-forth opener that featured five ties. Aurora capitalized on late miscues to edge Elmhurst 25–22 in the first frame. Elmhurst answered in the second behind strong serving runs, including a pair of aces from Gianna Ptaszek and clutch kills from Ashley Clardy and Keely Larson, pulling out a 25–22 win to even the match.

Aurora regained control in the third, using four blocks and timely kills to take it 25–20. The Bluejays forced a fifth set by rallying in the fourth, where Paige Belfield provided a spark from the service line and Clardy and Larson hammered home key kills in a 25–22 decision.

In the decisive set, Elmhurst and Aurora traded points through seven ties. Despite kills from Clardy, Larson, and Blair Johnson that kept the Bluejays within striking distance, Aurora pulled away late to secure the 16–14 victory.

Elmhurst tallied 56 kills and a season-high 16 service aces in the match. Clardy paced the offense with 18 kills, while Larson hit .348 with 10 kills and three blocks. Johnson also finished with 10 kills, and Belfield added seven kills and five aces. Ptaszek sparked the service game with six aces, while setter Freddie Temple handed out 43 assists and posted 11 digs. Casey anchored the back row with 19 digs and three aces.

Defensively, the Bluejays totaled 64 digs and three blocks but were hurt by 25 attack errors and 15 service errors. Aurora countered with 57 kills, 11 aces, and 10 blocks while hitting .208.

The loss dropped Elmhurst to 4–9 on the year, while Aurora improved to 8–4.