Senior Maxie Mottlowitz matched career-highs with 11 kills and nine blocks to help lead the Lake Forest College volleyball team to a 22-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-20 victory at Ripon College on Saturday. It was the final contest of the season for both teams.
Mottlowitz had just two attack errors and 19 attempts for a stellar hitting percentage of .474 on the night. In addition to tying her best output for kills and blocks in a match, she established a new career-high with 16.0 points.
Freshman Olivia Smith led the visitors with 14 kills, classmate Hannah Nauert with 39 assists, and junior libero Grace Larson with 25 digs. Junior Emily Witz also reached double figures in digs with 10 and she and Larson served up a team-high three aces apiece. Senior Natalie Olson finished with 10 blocks, twice her previous career-high, and the Foresters' 15 blocks on the night ranks third in program history for a four-set match.
After Ripon won the first point of the contest, Lake Forest took the next two but would not lead against in the opening set. The Red Hawks broke a 5-5 tie with a four-point run and were ahead the rest of the way. The visitors trailed by eight before going on a 9-2 run to make the score 20-19. The teams traded points until, leading 24-22, the home team closed out the set with a kill.
Ripon was ahead for the majority of set and by as many as four points. The Foresters never led until, trailing 18-15, they rattled off 10 straight points to even the match at one set apiece. A block by Smith and freshman Isabel Donnelly finished off the run.
An 8-2 Lake Forest run in the third set turned an 8-7 deficit into a five-point advantage. The Red Hawks earned a point on their own serve just once the rest of the way while the Foresters did so three times during a 7-2 run to close out the set. A Mottlowitz kill finished it off.
The visitors held a narrow lead for most of the fourth set. The margin grew to four at 18-14 but Ripon rallied for four straight points to tie the score. Lake Forest went back on top and was nursing a 21-20 lead before winning four points in a row and the match. A block by Mottlowitz and Olson fittingly closed out the contest.
Lake Forest finished the season 12-14 overall and 4-5 in Midwest Conference play. Ripon is 10-6 overall and 5-4 in the league.
In addition to Mottlowitz and Olson, the Foresters will lose fellow seniors Lexi Kleva and Tori Tinman to graduation this year.
