The Forester volleyball team went 3-1 at the Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational at Aurora University over the weekend. Lake Forest senior Molly McCloskey surpassed 1,000 career kills in the team's last match at the event.
McCloskey came into the weekend 50 kills shy of the milestone and had only seven in the team's first match, a 25-16, 25-16, 25-17 Friday night rout of Rockford College. Fellow senior Kristen Braun led the Foresters with eight kills and Cori Cooper, another senior, match McCloskey with seven. Sophomore setter Torie Pasiewicz finished with 31 assists and a pair of aces and senior libero Tia Rupnik led the team with a dozen digs. The Foresters' .317 hitting percentage in the game was a season-best.
McCloskey led Lake Forest with 17 kills, three aces, and 25 digs in a 24-26, 25-16, 25-20, 25-14 victory over Manchester College later Friday night. Senior Courtney Faulstick also reached double figures with 10 kills and she added three blocks. Pasiewicz had 30 assists and 10 digs and Rupnik chipped in with 23 digs.
Despite posting a .270 hitting percentage as a team, the Foresters were defeated 21-25, 25-16, 25-16, 20-25, 15-11 by Roosevelt University to start play on Saturday. Cooper led Lake Forest with 16 kills while McCloskey and senior Megan Trubich added nine apiece. Trubich also finished with four aces, nine digs, and three blocks. Rupnik led the team in digs again with 29 and Pasiewicz had 12 to go with her career-high 43 assists.
Pasiewicz did not keep that career-high for long as she tallied 45 assists in the Foresters final match of the weekend, a 25-14, 25-15, 25-18 victory over Aurora. Rupnik's 38 digs set a new program record for a three-set match and McCloskey was next with 18. McCloskey, who started the match with 983 career kills, led the squad with 19 and now has 1,002 in her career.
McCloskey had a team-high 52 kills on the weekend and Cooper was next on the team with 36. Pasiewicz finished with 149 assists and led the squad with five aces. Rupnik's 102 digs and Faulstick's seven blocks also led the Foresters, who are now 5-4 on the season.
Lake Forest will compete in the annual Red & Black Triangular next Saturday. The Foresters will take on North Central College at noon and host Benedictine University at 2:00 p.m.