The Lake Forest College volleyball team was defeated in three sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-17) at Beloit College Friday night (October 23). The Foresters fell to 5-17 overall and 2-4 in Midwest Conference play. The Buccaneers raised their overall record to 21-4 and league mark to a perfect 6-0.

Lake Forest gradually fell behind in the first set before erasing a 21-14 deficit with seven straight points. The score was tied again at 22 and 23 before back-to-back points by Beloit closed out the set. Eight of junior Deena Blanchard's (Sparta, Mich./Sparta) 16 assists in the set went to freshman Cori Cooper (Crystal Lake, Ill./Crystal Lake Central) and junior Mandi Mulliner (Elmhurst, Ill./York) served up a pair of aces during the 7-0 run that tied the score.

Neither team rattled off any long runs in the second set, which the Foresters led until the Bucs tied the score at 10. The home team gradually pulled away from that point on. Cooper had a team-high four kills in the set, Blanchard dished out 10 more assists, and freshman Megan Trubich (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) had six digs.

Beloit led 7-1 early in the third set before an 8-1 Lake Forest run gave the visitors a brief lead. The Bucs scored the next four points, however, and extended their lead from there. Trubich added another eight digs in the set, Blanchard had 10 more assists, and freshman Molly McCloskey (Riverside, Ill./Riverside-Brookfield) recorded four kills and seven digs.

Cooper led all players in the contest with 15 kills and added 12 digs on the night. Blanchard's 36 assists and Trubich's 15 digs were also match-highs. McCloskey finished with 11 kills and a dozen digs.

Despite the loss, head coach Jennifer Saylor was pleased with her team's effort, especially on defense. "We obviously fell short of winning the match but our defense was phenomenal," she touted. "We put a hand on everything and Beloit had to earn each and every point. It was really a fun match."

Lake Forest will continue league play Saturday morning (October 24) at 11:00 against visiting Grinnell College. Grinnell will then take on Trinity International University at 1:00 p.m. and the Foresters will face Trinity International at 3:00 p.m. Live video webcasts of all of Lake Forest's home and conference matches are available at www.pennatlantic.com.