By: After a 25-11 demolition by IC in the first set, the Foresters won three out of the last four sets, gutting out two-point victories in each of them.
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – The Illinois College volleyball team lost a heart-breaking five-set match to Lake Forest College on Friday night, falling 25-11, 26-28, 25-23, 23-25, 13-15 to the Foresters. IC drops to 13-11 (3-5 Midwest Conference) with the loss while LFC improves to 6-14 (2-5 MWC).
The first set proved to be the outlier in the match. While the next four sets would be decided by only two points each, Illinois College came out on fire to the tune of a .462 hitting percentage in a 25-11 victory. The Lady Blues had 13 kills against only one error on 26 attacks in the set and pulled away quickly from Lake Forest to go up a set.
The Foresters awoke in the second set and used a five-point run at 16-15 to take a 21-15 lead and appear firmly in control of the second set. Refusing to go quietly, the Lady Blues scored nine of the next 11 points to earn a set point at 24-23. Lake Forest would fend off that one and two subsequent set points, leaving the set tied at 26-26. Grace Larson (a match-high 22 kills) then slammed down two in a row to give Lake Forest the second-set win to tie it up at 1-1.
Late in the third set, Illinois College trailed Lake Forest, 19-17, but scored three straight on a pair of
Ali Pankey kills, as well as one from
Maddie Ramsey to take at 20-19 lead. With the score level at 22-22,
Lisa Lowry gave IC the lead on an assist from
Elizabeth Ganley and Lake Forest followed with an attack error to make it 24-22. Though the Foresters pulled one point back at 24-23, Paige Jespersen would be denied at the net by Lowry and Ganley on set point to give IC a 2-1 lead with the 25-23 victory.
Riding the momentum, Illinois College took a 9-4 lead in the fourth set and forced Lake Forest into an early timeout. The Foresters gathered themselves quickly, storming back into it and finally tying the score at 18-18. Down 23-22,
Rebecca Shields tied the score one final time for the Lady Blues, but a service error and attack error followed and allowed Lake Forest to send the match to a fifth and deciding set.
When Lake Forest committed two consecutive errors and Shields and Ramsey combined for a block, Illinois College had a 10-7 lead late in the fifth set and looked to be finally gaining control. The Lady Blues committed three straight attack errors to bring the Foresters back into it though, and another three-point swing gave LFC a 13-12 lead. Though Morgen Malte served out of bounds to tie the score at 13-13, Illinois College followed with two more attack errors to give Lake Forest the match.
Pankey ended the night with a team-high 12 kills for Illinois College, while Lowry and Shields added 10 kills apiece. Ganley had a double-double with 40 assists and 19 digs, while
Cheyanne Jockisch added a match-high 28 digs as part of a 106-dig effort by the Lady Blues on the night, a season high in that category for IC.
Katie Tonry added 19 digs on the night, while
Brenna Garland and Lowry each had 15. Ganley and Ramsey each added five block assists as well, while Lowry had one solo block and four block assists.
Illinois College will play its final home match of the season on Saturday, facing Beloit College in Sherman Gymnasium at 12 p.m.
