The Forester Invitational began Friday evening with the home team coming out on the wrong side of the score after a four-set match against Illinois Institute of Technology.
The first three sets could not have been closer with the Scarlet Hawks taking the opener 26-24 and the second by the same score. The Foresters outlasted their guests 33-31 in the third but fell 25-12 in the fourth.
Lake Forest's
Alivia Barker led all players in the match with 17 kills while teammates
Rio Dirksen and
Elise Kelley added 11 apiece. Barker's total is the most for a Forester so far this season. The home team finished with 55 kills to Illinois Tech's 51 on the night.
The Foresters also had an 81-71 edge in digs with
Rylie Almoradie leading the way with a career-high 21. Kelley's 15 gave her a third consecutive double-double and four this fall while setter
Lilly Robinson added 14 digs and
L'Rae White 11.
Robinson also tallied 42 assists, more than any other player in the contest and the highest total of her career.
In addition to kills, Barker also led Lake Forest in blocks with five while
Simisola Osinaike was just one behind her.
The Foresters trailed by as many as six in the opening set but eventually came back and tied the score at 22. The teams were also knotted at 23 and 24 before back-to-back points by the Scarlet Hawks finished it off.
The largest lead in set two was Lake Forest's 13-9 advantage. Illinois Tech rallied and tied the score at 18 before jumping ahead by three at 24-21. Kills by Kelley and Dirksen and a block by Dirksen abd Robinson evened the score at 24 but, once again, two in a row for the visitors gave them the set.
Leading 24-22, Lake Forest had the first two set point opportunities in the third but three straight for the Scarlet Hawks gave them a chance to close out the match. The Foresters fended off four potential match points while failing to convert five times themselves. Kelley and Dirksen each had a kill before combining on a block for the 33rd point of the set.
After winning three of the first five points in the fourth set, Lake Forest dropped 20 of the next 23 and were unable to continue the comeback.
Eureka College defeated Alverno College in the other match Friday night and both of those teams will take on Lake Forest and Illinois Tech on Saturday. Alverno will be the Foresters' first opponent at 10:00 a.m. and they will face Eureka afterwards at noon.
