BLUEJAY VOLLEYBALL TEAM DEFEATS THE #1 TEAM IN THE NATION
Finish Elmhurst Invitational with 1-3 record

UW-Oshkosh Boxscore
Washington U. Boxscore

ELMHURST, ILL., August 30, 2003 -- On a day where Elmhurst College celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Bluejays 1983 NCAA Division III National Championship, the 2003 Bluejay volleyball team stunned the #1 ranked team in the nation, Washington University, in a classic five-game battle to end the Elmhurst College Volleyball Invitational. The Bluejays downed the Bears 30-27, 28-30, 30-24, 10-30, 17-15 to finish the tournament with a 3-1 record after falling earlier in the day to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 32-34, 28-30, 30-24, 10-30, 17-15.

"This was a great way to conclude the tournament for us," said Head Coach Julie Hall. "Washington is a very good team, and I'm proud of the way we bounced back from the loss to UW-Oshkosh. We scored some key points at critical stages in the match to help us secure the win."

UW-Oshkosh --The day began on a sour note for the Bluejays with a 3-1 loss to UW-Oshkosh. Junior Becky Puccini (Carol Stream-Glenbard North) led the Bluejays with 14 kills and four blocks while Lisa Denman (Dublin, Ohio-Dublin Coffman) pounded down 9 kills and tallied 15 digs in the loss. Regina Morrone (Orland Park-A.A. Stagg) dished out 32 assists while Christy Barone (Addison-Addison Trail) added 15. Katie Bequette (Staunton-H.S.) led the team in digs with 21.

Washington University --After finishing the match with UW-Oshkosh, Elmhurst had little time to rest before facing the number one team in the nation. By the time the match against Washington ended, the Bluejays had been on the court for almost five hours with one short break.

Elmhurst jumped out to a quick 2-1 lead in the match by winning the first (30-27) and third (30-24) games. After being down 2-1, Washington responded by storming past Elmhurst 30-10 in game four to send the match to a decisive fifth game. The two teams went back and forth for the majority of the fifth game with Washington opening up a slim lead at 13-11. The Bluejays rallied back to tie the score at 14-14. Washington fought off one match point to tie the score at 15-15, but Elmhurst won the next two points to secure the win.

Denman led the way, pounding down 16 kills while Nicole Carlson (Forreston-H.S.) added 11 kills in the win. Morrone recorded 24 assists, while Barone finished with 14.

Puccini turned in a team-high six blocks to go along with six kills, en route to being named to the All-Tournament team.

Elmhurst, ranked #10 in the American Volleyball Coach's Association preseason poll, will travel to Sheboygan, Wis. next weekend to take part in the Lakeland College Tournament.