Senior Emily Witz led all players in the match with 23 digs but the Forester volleyball team was defeated 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-12 at Illinois College on Saturday.
Witz has now reached double figures in digs in 23 of 25 contests this season and tallied at least 20 for the fifth time on the year.
Sophomore Olivia Smith led the visitors with 11 kills and added a dozen digs for her second double-double of 2018. Sophomore setter Allyson Richards chipped in with a career-high 17 assists.
Lake Forest led by as many as five points early i the opening set but the Lady Blues quickly tied the score at nine. The Foresters were ahead by a point at 15-14 before the home team seized control with a 7-0 run. The visitors were unable to win consecutive points the rest of the way and dropped the set.
After falling behind by nine points in set two, Lake Forest battled back to within two on three different occasions, the last at 21-19, but got no closer.
The Foresters had a 21-14 lead in the third set before Illinois College mounted a comeback and closed to within one at 24-23. A kill by Smith, however, closed out the set and extended the match.
The Foresters were not able to win the point while serving at all in set four and the home team gradually pulled away and won by 13 points.
The loss dropped Lake Forest's overall record on the season to 10-15, lowered the team's Midwest Conference record to 3-4, and made it impossible for the Foresters to qualify for the four-team MWC Tournament. Illinois College improved to 17-6 overall, finished its league schedule at 6-3, and secured a spot in the tourney.
The Foresters will host Beloit College at 7:00 Tuesday night before closing out the year Friday night at the same time against visiting Ripon College.