BLUEJAYS DISMANTLE ILLINOIS WESLEYAN

Ill. Wesleyan Boxscore

ELMHURST, ILL., October 21, 2003-- The dream of a fourth straight CCIW Volleyball Championship for the Elmhurst College volleyball team is alive and well after the Bluejays dismantled the Illinois Wesleyan University Titans 30-19, 30-18, 30-18 in their final regular season CCIW contest in Bloomington.

The Titans entered the contest with a 6-0 record and were sitting in first place atop the CCIW standings. Elmhurst needed a win to pull to within a point of Illinois Wesleyan before entering the CCIW tournament in two weeks. The CCIW Championship is awarded on a combined score of regular season and CCIW Tournament play.

The Bluejays were fired up right from the very start of the match. They quickly took the lead in game one and never looked back. Elmhurst never trailed Illinois Wesleyan in the first game and used a run of four straight point when they were leading 3-2 to open up a 7-2 lead. The Bluejay increased their lead by rattling off four more straight points at 20-12 to take their largest lead of the game at 24-12. The Bluejays won game won handily, 30-19.

Game two was a similar story with Elmhurst taking control early. The Titans only lead of the game came at 2-1. The Bluejays quickly responded by winning the next five points to take a 6-2 lead and never let up. Three separate runs of three straight points on Elmhurst serves put the game out of reach.

The Titans hung around in game number three for a little longer, but still could only manage a lead at 3-2. The Bluejays picked away at the Titans until they had built a 20-14 lead. Elmhurst won ten of the final 14 points to win game three and the match.

Lisa Denman (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin-Coffmann) powered the Bluejays on the outside finishing with 16 kills, 13 digs, three blocks and two aces. Carly Bearwald (Northbrook-Glenbrook North) pounded down 13 kills and Lindsey Mieling (Batavia-H.S.) finished with 10 kills and four blocks in the win. Nicole Carlson (Forreston-H.S.) tallied 15 digs and four kills. Regina Morrone (Orland Park-A.A. Stagg) led the team in assists with 29 while Christy Barone (Addison-Addison Trail) totaled 12 assists. Katie Bequette (Staunton-H.S.) led the team in digs, finishing with 23.

Elmhurst (22-9, 5-2 CCIW) will take the weekend off and travel to the University of Chicago next Tuesday (October 28) at 6:30 p.m.