The Lake Forest College volleyball team hosted and defeated Alverno College 25-15, 25-13, 18-25, 26-24 Tuesday night.
The Foresters jumped out to a 22-5 lead in the opening set. The Inferno made things interesting with an eight-point run that made the score 23-14 but a pair of kills by freshman Abby McKinley finished off the set.
Lake Forest earned nine of the first 10 points in set two. After Alverno pulled to within six at 17-11, the Foresters outscored their guests 8-2 the rest of the way to take a 2-0 lead.
Alverno turned things around in the third set, taking six of the first seven points and never relinquishing the lead. The margin eventually reached eight at 24-16 and there was no dramatic comeback in the cards for the Foresters.
The fourth and final set was close throughout and the teams were tied for the seventh time at 14-14. Lake Forest then won five points in a row before dropping four straight. The Inferno eventually tied the score at 24 before a block by McKinley and junior Madison Stevens was followed up by another block by freshman Riley Stapley to finish off the match.
Forester sophomore Mary Gegen led the home team with 13 kills and added 10 digs for her third double-double of the young season. Freshman setter Juli Barrientos posted team-highs with 11 digs and four aces and also chipped in with 16 assists. Stapley paced the squad with four blocks and freshman setter Maiah Moll with 17 assists.
Lake Forest's 14 aces on the night matched the eighth-highest four-set total in team history.
The victory improved the Foresters' record on the season to 4-1 while Alverno fell to 1-3.
Lake Forest will travel to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh this weekend to play four matches at the Polito's Classic.
