Senior middle blocker Maxie Mottlowitz recorded 13 blocks on the day and her kill finished off the Lake Forest College volleyball team's 29-27, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23 victory over Concordia University Chicago on Saturday. The Foresters also defeated Robert Morris University-Springfield 25-7, 25-15, 25-12 earlier in the day.
Mottlowitz was part of each of Lake Forest's five blocks against Robert Morris-Springfield. Freshman outside hitter Olivia Smith led all players in the match with nine kills, junior libero Emily Witz with 11 digs, and freshman setter Hannah Nauert with 20 assists.
The home team won the first eight points of the match and dropped back-to-back points just once in the opening set. A block by Mottlowitz finished it off.
Set two was tied 8-8 before the Foresters pulled away by winning 12 of the next 15 points. The Eagles closed to within six points at 21-15 before Lake Forest closed out the set with four straight points, including the last on a kill by freshman middle blocker Isabel Donnelly.
The Foresters continued the run with the first seven points of the third set. After dropping six of the next seven, the home team pulled away again with a 14-3 run. A kill by sophomore right side hitter Hannah Hornacek closed out the set and finished off the Lake Forest victory.
Concordia Chicago also posted a lopsided victory over Robert Morris-Springfield, winning 25-13, 25-9, 25-16.
Smith posted her first career double-double against the Cougars, leading the home team with 14 kills and adding 14 digs. She also had two aces and two blocks. Freshman outside hitter Olivia Grimmer also reached double figures with 10 kills and served up three aces. Mottlowitz finished just one shy of her career-high with eight blocks, matching the eighth-highest total in team history for a four-set match. Witz tallied 23 digs for the second time in the last three contests while Nauert and Hornacek reached double figures with 14 and 10, respectively. Nauert also had 34 assists, matching her career-high.
The opening set was close throughout and tied 14 times. Lake Forest's 23-19 advantage was the largest of the set and the Foresters had an opportunity to finish it off at 24-21, 25-24, and 26-25, but were unable. Concordia Chicago pulled ahead 27-26 before a service error and kills by Donnelly and Grimmer gave the Foresters a one-set advantage.
Lake Forest fell behind 8-2 in set two but pulled back to within a point at 11-10. The visitors regained a five-point edge at 16-11 before seven straight points by the Foresters, including three consecutive aces by Donnelly, put them ahead 18-16. The Cougars tied the score before committing a service error and four straight attack errors. Lake Forest eventually finished off the set on another serice error.
Concordia Chicago led by as many as seven points at 15-8 in the third set. After an 11-3 run by the Foresters gave them the lead, the Cougars rattled off six straight points to regain the advantage. The home team fought off three set points before the visitors closed it out.
Lake Forest trailed by as many as four points early in the fourth set. After coming back and taking a brief lead at 13-12, the Foresters fell behind again by four at 20-16. The home team won eight of the next 10 points to set up match point, which was denied once before Mottlowitz's kill finished off the victory.
The Foresters are now 7-8 on the season. A split on the day left Concordia Chicago at 12-6 and Robert Morris-Springfield fell to 0-6.
Lake Forest will host Illinois Institute of Technology Tuesday night at 7:00 before beginning Midwest Conference play against visiting Knox College on Saturday.
