CHICAGO, Ill.- The Lady Blues finished the final day of the Windy City Invite with a split, defeating Kalamazoo before falling to host North Park.
IC now sits at 4–5 on the season after the split as they finish the Windy City Invite with a 2-1 record.
Match 1: IC 3 Kalamazoo 1
The Lady Blues opened their day in Chicago with a strong 3–1 victory over Kalamazoo (25–20, 14–25, 26–24, 25–20).
Illinois College controlled the first set behind steady offense from Delani Klaas and Elliana Huckstep, but the Hornets responded in the second set, using an efficient attack to even the match.
In the pivotal third set, IC battled it out, edging out a 26–24 win with key contributions at the net from Laura Kaiser, who recorded seven blocks, great serving from Mady Salisbury who finished with five service aces.
Klaas led the attack with 12 kills, while Huckstep added eight. Summer Brandis distributed the offense with 26 assists, and Riley Drake finished with 14 digs. IC's defense was a difference-maker, recording 11 total blocks and 61 digs to control the attack from Kalamazoo.
Match 2: North Park 3 IC 1
In the final match of the weekend, Illinois College fell to host North Park in four sets, 14–25, 25–14, 10–25, 11–25.
After dropping the opening set, the Lady Blues bounced back with an impressive 25–14 win in the second, highlighted by efficient hitting from Laura Kaiser and Delani Klaas. However, the Vikings responded with a dominant third set and closed out the match with strong serving and attacking.
IC finished with 31 kills, led by Kaiser's seven and Riley Drake's six. Summer Brandis and Liv Cox combined for 26 assists, while Drake and Mady Salisbury each tallied eight digs defensively.
North Park finished the game with a .311 hitting percentage with 47 kills which proved to be the difference in match two this afternoon.
Up Next
The Lady Blues are back at home for the Illinois College Invitational as they host Nebraska Wesleyan at 7:30pm for Community Night in Sherman Gymnasium.
