Senior middle blocker Brittany Avonts was part of 11 of the Foresters' 19 blocks on the night as the Lake Forest College volleyball team defeated visiting North Central College in three sets before falling to Benedictine University in five in Friday's Red & Black Triangular.
Avonts had six blocks, including a solo, against North Central. Sophomore outside hitter Grace Larson led Lake Forest with 11 kills and added a dozen digs. Senior libero Briahna Havis had a team-high 14 digs and junior setter Lexi Kleva finished with 29 assists and 12 digs.
Neither team led by more than three points in the opening set and the score was tied 10 times, the last at 22. A Larson kill, Cardinal attack error, and Havis ace gave the Foresters a 25-22 set win. Larson, senior outside hitter Paige Jespersen, and junior right side hitter Natalie Olson each had three kills in the set.
Olson pounded out a team-high four kills in set two while Larson and sophomore middle blocker Morgan Malte added three apiece. Lake Forest jumped out to a 5-1 advantage and led by at least three the rest of the way. The Foresters gradually pulled away and a pair of Olson aces finished off the set 25-16.
Jespersen started the third set with a kill and the home team led throughout. Six straight points, including five with Kleva serving, put the Foresters ahead 12-4 early on and North Central got no closer than four points thereafter. A kill and back-to-back aces by Larson made the score 24-15 and, after three straight points by the Cardinals, Jespersen's third kill of the set and eighth of the match finished it off. Larson had five kills and Havis six digs in the set.
Jespersen led the Foresters with 17 kills and 22 digs against Benedictine. Avonts was next on the team with seven kills and she was part of half of Lake Forest's 10 blocks. Freshman right side hitter Hannah Hornacek served up four aces and Kleva tallied 36 assists. Kleva and Havis each had 16 digs, freshman defensive specialist Anna Denslow 14, and sophomore defensive specialist Annika Daley 11.
The home team had a commanding 24-15 lead in the first set before nine points in a row by the Eagles tied the score. A kill by Jespersen ended the run and Avonts and Larson combined for a block to finish off the set. Jespersen had five kills and five digs in the set.
Benedictine led 14-11 in set two before winning seven and 11 of the last 13 points to tie the match at one set apiece.
The visitors also began the third set with an 8-1 run but eight consecutive points by the Foresters quickly gave them the lead. There were five more lead changes in the set and the score was eventually tied at 24. Benedictine took the next two points and the set, despite five kills and seven digs by Jespersen.
The Foresters trailed 12-9 in set four before going on a 15-3 run. Finishing off the set proved difficult once again for the home team, as the Eagles fought off seven set point opportunities before a service error ended the run and left the match tied at two sets apiece. Avonts led Lake Forest with four kills and Jespersen with seven digs in the set.
The Eagles cruised through the fifth and deciding set, winning the first five points, rattling off four in a row to make the score 10-3, and finishing it off with another five-point run to take the set 15-5.
North Central edged out Benedictine in five sets in the first match of the evening, leaving all three teams with a 1-1 record at the event. Lake Forest is now 4-7 on the season, North Central 8-4, and Benedictine 6-6.
The Foresters' next match will be played at Concordia University Wisconsin Tuesday night at 7:30.
