Lake Forest College Sports Information
November 8, 2003
Contact:  Mike Wajerski, SID

Foresters Win Midwest Conference Championship Tournament
Team's fourth league title in the last five years
  

Andrea Krueger had 179 assists in three tournament matches.
DE PERE, WI - The Lake Forest College volleyball team entered this weekend's (November 7-8) Midwest Conference Championship Tournament as the #5-seed but exited as league champions. It was the program's fourth title in the last five years and fifth in the last seven. Lake Forest defeated #4 Ripon College in four games Friday afternoon to advance to Saturday's semifinals, where it eliminated host and top seed St. Norbert College, also in four. The Foresters came up against #7 Carroll College in the Championship Match and knocked off the Lady Pioneers in, once again, four games.

Senior Stephanie Metzger (Chicago, IL/Lane Tech), the team's leader in both kills and digs this season, led all players with 23 kills and 26 digs in the 30-26, 30-25, 26-30, 30-25 victory over Ripon on Friday. She also added three blocks and a pair of aces. Freshman Janelle Balcerzak (Milwaukee, WI/Pius XI) had 15 kills and just two errors in 28 attempts for a .464 hitting percentage. Senior Jenna Harper (St. Louis, MO/Clayton) and junior Amy Krueger (Tinley Park, IL/Andrew) reached double figures in kills with 13 and 11, respectively, and sophomore Meghan Miller (Williams Bay, WI/Williams Bay) recorded 24 digs.

Metzger was on top of her game again in Saturday's 30-28, 24-30, 30-22, 30-17 semifinal victory over St. Norbert, who finished the regular season with a perfect 9-0 league record. The team's co-captain pounded out a team-high 17 kills and added three aces and a match-high 27 digs. Fellow senior co-captain Jenny Anderson (Sebastopol, CA/El Molino) and Harper each had 14 kills. Anderson also had 16 digs while Harper chipped in a career-high five aces.

After junior setter Andrea Krueger (Tinley Park, IL/Andrew) missed her career-high by just one with 57 assists on Friday, she set a new one with 60 against St. Norbert and then bettered that mark with 62 in the 31-29, 30-24, 29-31, 30-14 championship match triumph over Carroll. She also added five aces in the contest. Balcerzak and Metzger each had 19 kills and combined for a .363 hitting percentage. Amy Krueger and Anderson both recorded 11 kills and Anderson added a team-high 21 digs, one more than Metzger.

Metzger led the team with 59 kills and 73 digs on the weekend. Andrea Krueger had 179 assists and eight aces while Harper recorded 13 blocks and, with 104 on the year, is the only player in school history to reach the 100-mark twice in her career.

The Foresters also earn the MWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament. Lake Forest will take on Wartburg College Thursday (November 13) evening at 7:00 in the first round of regional play at Washington University.

Lake Forest - Ripon Box Score
Lake Forest - St. Norbert Box Score
Lake Forest - Carroll Box Score