A block by junior right side hitter Natalie Olson and middle blocker Rebecca Lynch finished off a 25-15, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17 victory by the Forester volleyball team over visiting Grinnell College on Saturday.
The block was the seventh of the day for Lake Forest. Senior middle blocker Brittany Avonts was part of the first six and she added five kills.
Sophomore outside hitter Grace Larson led the home team with 21 kills, one shy of her career high, and she also finished with a dozen digs. Senior outside hitter Paige Jespersen also recorded a double-double with 13 kills and 12 digs.
Of Lake Forest's 54 kills, a season-high 48 were assisted by junior setter Lexi Kleva. She also served up a pair of aces in the contest.
Olson led the Foresters with four aces and her seven digs on the day were a career high. Senior libero Briahna Havis' 27 digs were also the most for her as a Forester.
Lake Forest won the first two points of the match and led throughout the opening set. The margin was just two at 14-12 before the home team finished off the set on an 11-3 run. Larson had six kills and two aces in the set.
Set two was tied 15 times, the last at 21-21. Grinnell then took the next three points and, after a kill by Avonts, won the set on a service error. Kleva had 15 assists and Havis 11 digs in the set.
The fourth set was also close throughout, with neither team leading by more than four points at any time. Head coach Heather Noll called a time out with her Foresters trailing 12-9 and they responded by winning the next six points. Lake Forest maintained the lead the rest of the way and Larson's fifth kill of the set finished it off.
The Foresters won five of the first six points to take control early in set four. They increased the lead to nine points on several occasions and to 10 very late in the set. Grinnell fought off three match points before the block by Olson and Lynch closed out the contest.
Lake Forest is now 5-12 overall this season and 1-3 in Midwest Conference play. Grinnell fell to 9-9 overall and 2-2 in the league.
The Foresters will continue conference play in Wisconsin next weekend. Lake Forest will play at Lawrence University Friday night at 7:00 and at St. Norbert College at 1:00 the following afternoon.
