Lake Forest College Sports Information
September 29, 2005
Contact: Mike Wajerski, SID

School Records Fall as Foresters Battle Two of the Nation’s Top Eight Teams
#8 Whitewater defeats Lake Forest in three games, #7 Elmhurst in four

Lisa Sturgill set a school record for digs in a three-game match.
LAKE FOREST, IL - The Lake Forest College volleyball team hosted a pair of highly-ranked teams in back-to-back mid-week matches. The Foresters fell 30-20, 31-29, 30-14 to UW-Whitewater, the #8 team in the country, on Tuesday (September 27) and dropped a 30-23, 26-30, 32-30, 30-27 decision to Elmhurst College, the #7 team in the nation, on Thursday (September 29). Lake Forest’s record on the year fell to 11-6. Whitewater is now 16-2 and Elmhurst is 14-3.

On Tuesday freshman libero Lisa Sturgill (Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan South) set a school record for digs in a three-game match with 28. She eclipsed the previous mark of 26 set by senior Meghan Miller (Williams Bay, WI/Williams Bay) last year. Miller and sophomore Merissa Martin (Vernon Hills, IL/Vernon Hills) were next on the squad with 11 digs apiece.

Junior Janelle Balcerzak (Milwaukee, WI/Pius XI) and sophomore Nicole Baich (Westchester, IL/Nazareth Academy) shared team-high honors with nine kills each in the match. Junior setter Kendra Casey (Wauwatosa, WI/Wauwatosa West) recorded 25 assists.

Miller pounded out a career-high 17 kills against Elmhurst and added two assists, two aces, a block, and a team-high 32 digs. The Foresters set a team record for digs in a match of any length with 135. The previous mark was 129 and the program’s previous record for a four-game match was 111, set just five days earlier. In addition to Miller’s 32, Sturgill and Martin chipped in with 28 and 27, respectively. Casey (16), Balcerzak (11), and freshman Lindsay Olmstead (Honolulu, HI/Punahou) (10) also reached double figures.

Baich and Balcerzak were next on the team in kills with 15 and 12, respectively. They each added three blocks and Balcerzak led the squad with four aces. Casey tallied 44 assists.

Lake Forest will play three matches at home on Saturday (October 1). The team will host Illinois Wesleyan University at 10:00 a.m., Aurora University at noon, and North Park University at 2:00 p.m. The Foresters will put their 3-0 Midwest Conference record on the line at home next Tuesday (October 4) night against Monmouth College.

Lake Forest - Whitewater Box Score
Lake Forest - Elmhurst Box Score