Cornell Too Much for Foresters in MWC Tournament Final

Photo by Ella Manthey
Photo by Ella Manthey

The Lake Forest College volleyball team was defeated 25-13, 25-19, 25-21 by host Cornell College in Saturday's Midwest Conference Tournament final.

Senior Madison Stevens and junior Grace Franz led the Foresters with seven kills apiece. Franz added a pair of assists and finished the season with 58 to match the seventh-highest total in team history.

In the back row senior Izzi Visnjevac and freshman setter Lilly Robinson each tallied a team-high 14 digs. Visnjevac climbed into sixth place on the program's all-time list with 1,372 in her career.

Sophomore setter Juli Barrientos led the Foresters with 15 assists and matched Franz's two aces.

Lake Forest led by as many as four points early in the match and was ahead 11-9 in the opening set. Cornell then rattled off 13 straight points and cruised to the set victory.

The second set was similar to the first. A kill by Stevens tied the score at 12 but the Foresters were outscored 13-7 the rest of the way.

Lake Forest kept set three close until a 7-2 run by the Rams made the score 22-15. The visitors won the next three points, including two on aces by Barrientos, but were unable to prevent the sweep.

The Foresters, who were playing in their first conference tournament final since 2011, posted their best record in a decade at 16-13. Cornell advances to the NCAA Division III Tournament with a mark of 22-7.