Lake Forest College Sports Information
September 25, 2005
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

Lake Forest Seizes First Place with Three Wins at MWC Crossover
Foresters defeat Ripon and Carroll on Saturday, St. Norbert on Sunday

 Nicole Baich was the team's leader in kills in all three wins.
BELOIT, WI - The Forester volleyball team won each of its three matches at the Midwest Conference Crossover at Beloit College over the weekend (September 24-25). Lake Forest defeated both Ripon College (30-22, 29-31, 30-17, 30-27) and Carroll College (30-21, 30-23, 30-23) on Saturday before closing out the perfect weekend with a 20-30, 18-30, 30-28, 30-23, 15-13 triumph over defending league champion St. Norbert College on Sunday. The Foresters are now 11-4 overall and are the only team in the conference to post a 3-0 mark on the weekend.

Sophomore Nicole Baich (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy) led the team with 15 kills in the victory over Ripon. She also added three blocks and a pair of aces. Sophomore Merissa Martin (Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills) and juniors Janelle Balcerzak (Milwaukee, WI/Pius XI) and Savanna Shumaker (Bristol, WI/Westosha Central) also reached double figures in kills with 14, 13, and 10, respectively. Junior setter Kendra Casey (Wauwatosa, WI/Wauwatosa West) tallied a season-high 55 assists in the match and she had 12 of the team’s school record 111 digs (four-game match record). Freshman Lisa Sturgill (Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan South) led the squad with 33 digs and senior Meghan Miller (Williams Bay, WI/Williams Bay) was next with 26. Miller also chipped in with three blocks and two aces. Martin had 23 digs and Shumaker added 10.

Baich also led the Foresters in kills against Carroll with a dozen and she added four blocks. Balcerzak was next on the team with 10 kills, Casey recorded 33 assists and three aces, and Sturgill had 15 digs. Freshman Synneve Yoder (Murray, NE/Conestoga) and Miller also reached double figures in digs with 13 and 11, respectively.

With 16 kills, Baich led Lake Forest again in the come-from behind victory over St. Norbert. She also had two aces and four blocks, including three solos. Balcerzak was next with 15 kills and added three aces. Six players had at least 10 digs, led by Sturgill’s 25. Miller (21), Martin (17), freshman Lindsay Olmstead (Honolulu, HI/Punahou) (12), Yoder (11), and Casey (10) were the other five. Casey also had 38 assists and a solo block.

Casey finished the weekend with 126 assists. Baich led the Foresters with 43 kills, a .306 hitting percentage, and 11 blocks, including six solos. Balcerzak had a team-high five aces and Sturgill’s 73 digs put her over the 300-mark for the season.

Lake Forest will play five home matches in the next week, beginning with a pair of nationally-ranked programs. The Foresters will host #10 UW-Whitewater Tuesday (September 27) night and #9 Elmhurst College on Thursday (September 29). Both contests will begin at 7:00 p.m. The team will also host Illinois Wesleyan University, Aurora University, and North Park University next Saturday (October 1).

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