Sophomore outside hitter Grace Larson and senior outside hitter Paige Jespersen recorded double-doubles as the Forester volleyball team defeated Marian University 25-15, 25-19, 25-18 before falling to the University of Dubuque 25-20, 25-17, 26-28, 25-14 Friday night.
The home team opened the 2016 Forester Invitational against Marian and Larson's seven kills in the first set got Lake Forest off to a good start. A 5-0 run early in the set put the Foresters ahead for good and they won 12 of 16 points, including the final one on a Larson ace, to close it out.
The Foresters never trailed in either of the last two sets but Marian kept them relatively close. The margin was just two points at 12-10 in the second set before gradually pulled away. The margin was back down to three at 22-19 when the home team finished it off with three points in a row. Jespersen recorded three kills and seven digs in the set.
Lake Forest was nursing just a one-point advantage (11-10) before taking seven of the next eight points. After the Sabres pulled to within three at 21-18, the Foresters won the next four points and the match. Senior outside hitter Maxie Mottlowitz helped account for three of those points with a block and a pair of kills. Junior setter Lexi Kleva assisted on 13 of Lake Forest's 15 kills in the set.
Larson led the home team with 15 kills and added 11 digs and four aces in the match. Junior right side hitter Natalie Olson served up five aces, Jespersen led the squad with 15 digs, and Kleva tallied 33 assists.
Kleva also had 33 assists in the loss to Dubuque later in the night. Jespersen pounded out a team-high 11 kills and added 18 digs for her 17th career double-double. Senior libero Briahna Havis set a career-high with 22 digs and Olson's eight kills matched her career-best total.
The first set was tied seven times, the last at 13, before Dubuque took the lead for good. The margin grew to five at 20-15 and then again when the visitors scored the final two points of the set.
After falling behind by as many as four points early in the second set, Lake Forest came back to tie the score at 10, 11, 12, and 15. The Spartans took the next eight points, however, and easily hung on to win the set.
The Foresters led by no more than three and trailed by no more than two in an exciting third set. Down 24-22, the home team fought off a pair of match points, took the lead, fell behind, and then rattled off three straight points to take the set.
Dubuque's second 8-0 run of the night broke a 5-5 tie and put the visitors in position to close out the match. Their lead grew to as many as 13 as they posted a .300 hitting percentage while winning the set.
Alma College went 2-0 on the day while Lake Forest, Dubuque, and Lakeland College split their matches and Marian dropped a pair.
The Foresters will take on Alma at 10:00 Saturday morning and Lakeland at 2:00 in the afternoon.
