The Forester volleyball team was defeated in four sets by Dominican University and in five by North Park University at Concordia University Chicago's Fall Invitational on Saturday. Lake Forest's Brittany Avonts pounded out 28 kills and posted a .447 hitting percentage on the day.
Avonts led the team with 10 kills and junior Sarah House added eight in the team's 19-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-22 loss to Dominican. Sophomores Brianne Honda and Erin Sully finished with 16 and 13 digs, respecitvely, and junior Torie Pasiewicz led the Foresters with 18 assists.
Lake Forest trailed 6-5 in the opening set before rattling off six straight points to take the lead for good. Dominican pulled back to within four points late in the set but a kill by House and an ace by Honda closed it out.
A six-point run by the Stars in the second set increased their lead to 17-9 and they ended up winning the set by the same margin.
The Foresters had an 11-7 lead in set three before being outscored 18-4 during the remainder of the set.
Lake Forest jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the fourth set and led 18-11 before another Star comeback. Dominican went on a 14-4 run to finish off the match.
Avonts finished the Foresters' 14-25, 26-28, 26-24, 25-23, 15-13 loss to North Park with 18 kills and just two errors in only 23 attempts. Her .696 hitting percentage is the eighth-highest single-match mark in program history. She also added four blocks, including three solos. Sully also reached double figures with a dozen kills and Pasiewicz led the squad with 26 assists and 11 digs. She was also one of three Foresters with a team-high three aces.
Lake Forest never trailed in the first set and a 10-2 run early on gave the Foresters a comfortable lead. They continued to pull away and a kill by House eventually closed out the set.
Set two was tied 10 times. The Foresters trailed 26-25 before a kill by sophomore K.C. Wenson, a North Park attack error, and a kill by sophomore Bailey Everhart put Lake Forest ahead two sets to none.
Lake Forest trailed 18-9 in set three but rallied to tie the score at 23. An ace by senior Victoria Drasler pulled the Foresters within a point of winning the match but the Vikings won the next three points to take the set.
A four-point lead (21-17) for North Park was the largest advantage for either team in set four. The Foresters pulled to within one at 24-23 before the Vikings converted set point.
Behind four kills by Avonts, the Foresters jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fifth and final set. North Park, however, came back and tied the score at nine. Two points by Lake Forest were followed by five for the Vikings, making the score 14-11. The Foresters fought off a pair of match points before North Park finally finished off the contest.
The two lossed dropped the Foresters' record on the season to 5-9. Lake Forest was the only one of Dominican's four opponents on the weekend to win a set as the Stars improved to 11-5. North Park evened its record at 5-5.
The Foresters will travel to the University of Chicago Wednesday night for a 7:00 match.