BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Capital played its most complete volleyball of the season to earn a split of its two matches on Friday at the Barker Chevrolet Classic. The Crusaders beat host Illinois Wesleyan, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-15) before falling to #7 Hope in three sets (22-25, 21-25, 15-25).
"This is the best we have played all year," CU Head Coach Pam Briggs said. "It was great to see us play like this against great competition."
Capital (now 11-8 overall) started with a sweep of the host Titans behind solid efforts in the back row from seniors Sara Doebel (Clyde, Ohio/Clyde HS) and Jenna Zumberger (DeGraff, Ohio/Fairlawn HS) who each finished with 13 digs.
Classmate Jennifer Fekpe (Hillard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson HS) had a standout match as she hit .538 with eight kills.
Fellow senior Allison Hostetler (Dalton, Ohio/Dalton HS) added 10 kills while hitting at a .380 clip while freshman Leanne Schaefer (Verona, Wisc./Verona HS) tallied nine kills of her own in the opener.
In the nightcap, Doebel and Zumberger once again stepped to the forefront against a nationally-ranked opponent in Hope. Doebel posted a team-high 15 digs while Zumberger followed with 10.
Hostetler had another solid effort at the net with nine kills and a .444 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Emily Heitmeyer (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf HS) finished with six kills of her own for the Crusaders, which return to action on Saturday with matches against Trine (11 a.m. ET) and Millikin (1:30 p.m. ET).