The Forester women's volleyball team battled with defending Midwest Conference champion Cornell College on Saturday but was edged out in five sets.
Four kills by
Simisola Osinaike helped Lake Forest jump out to a 12-4 lead in set one. Trailing 17-11, Cornell rattled off five straight points before Osinaike's fifth kill of the day ended the run. The home team built its lead back up to five at 23-18 but the Rams battled back to within one again at 24-23. A kill by
Elise Kelley closed out the set for the Foresters.
Set two was tied at four before the visitors took control with a 10-4 run. After the teams split the next four points, Cornell won nine in a row and the set 25-10.
The third set was tied 11 times, the last at 12-12. The Rams took the next four points and led by at least two the rest of the way. Lake Forest fought off a pair of set point opportunities before dropping it 25-20.
The Foresters were the team to pull away in set four. With the score tied at nine, they won four points in a row and never relinquished the lead. The margin was just two at 19-17 before a five-point run that included back-to-back aces by
Alisa Kevric made the score 24-17. Cornell fought off one chance at set point but a block by
Rio Dirksen and
Elise Kelley finished it off.
After the Foresters took the first three points in set five, the score set was tied at 3, 4, 5, and 6. Lake Forest then won back-to-back points but the Rams responded with five in a row to pull ahead 11-8. The teams alternated points until it was 14-11 and then Cornell closed it out.
L'Rae White and
Alivia Barker led the Foresters with 14 kills apiece and combined for a .294 hitting percentage. White added a career-high 16 digs for her third double-double of the year.
Lake Forest libero
Alisa Kevric established new career highs with 26 digs and four aces in the contest. Kelley and setter
Lilly Robinson also reached double figures in digs with 16 and 10, respectively, and Robinson served up three aces and tallied 41 assists.
The loss evened the Foresters' overall record on the season at 11-11 and they are now 4-3 in MWC play. Cornell improved to 12-8 overall and remained perfect in league play at 7-0.
Lake Forest will close out the regular season with conference matches at Monmouth College Friday night and Grinnell College on Saturday. All three teams are tied-for-fourth in the standings with the fourth-place finisher earning the right to host an MWC Tournament quarterfinal game on November 10.
