The Lake Forest College volleyball team prevailed 25-13, 25-18, 27-25 at Beloit College Thursday night and is now 10-10 overall and 3-1 in Midwest Conference play this year. Forester junior libero Tia Rupnik tied for the team lead with 11 digs and added five assists and a pair of aces.
Rupnik and freshman setter Torie Pasiewicz finished with 11 digs and Pasiewicz also recorded 11 assists, two aces, and two kills. Junior Molly McCloskey pounded out a match-high 12 kills and classmate Cori Cooper added nine. Sophomore setter Tori Drasler led Lake Forest with 14 assists.
The Foresters won the first three points of the match and never trailed in the opening set. They allowed the Buccaneers to win consecutive points just once in the set and gradually pulled away for the victory.
Lake Forest posted a .292 kitting percentage on the night and a .346 mark in the second set. The score was close until six straight points by the visitors put them ahead 20-13 and Beloit got no closer than five points the rest of the way.
Beloit trailed by as many as six points seven times in the third and final set but won five in a row to make the score 22-21 in favor of the Foresters. It was tied at 24 and again at 25 before back-to-back kills by Cooper secured the Lake Forest victory.
The Buccaneers fell to 0-19 overall and 0-6 in league play.
It was the first of four matches in three days for the Foresters, who will host conference matches against Knox College Friday night at 7:00 and Grinnell College Saturday morning at 11:00. Lake Forest will also take on Trinity International University Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
