LAKE FOREST, Illinois – The MSOE women's volleyball team defeated host Lake Forest in five sets to earn a split on the first day of the 2017 season and the opening day of the Lake Forest Invitational.

The Raiders (1-1) opened the day with a hard-fought 33-31, 19-25, 26-24, 25-20 loss to Manchester (1-1). They then held off the Foresters (1-1) in the final match of the day 26-24, 25-19, 18-25, 18-25, 15-6.

Sophomore Allie Laurent had an all-around strong match in the victory over LFC, finishing with five kills, 21 assists, three service aces, and 20 digs. Sophomore Kylie Kamm had a team-high eight kills and sophomores Kaylie Butt and Sarah Williams notched six each.

Sophomore Shelby Borchardt was the second-match libero and shined with 19 digs, three aces, and five assists.

Grace Larson finished with a match-high 12 kills for the homestanding Foresters.

Despite going the distance in the second match, neither team was able to get going on offense. The Raiders hit just .090 over the first two games in taking a 2-0 lead in the match and finished at .006 with 33 kills. Lake Forest was marginally better at .025 with 37 kills.

Laurent and Borchardt led a strong defensive effort that saw six different players in the Red & White reach double-figures in digs. Freshman Megan Brock added 15 digs, while Butt had 13 and Kamm 10. Junior Julia Zeamer had a team-high four blocks, as well, including two solo blocks.

Junior Hannah Pekarek and senior Holly Denfeld led the charge in the first match. Pekarek finished with a team-high 12 kills to go with nine digs. Denfeld, playing her first collegiate volleyball match after being a four-year basketball standout, assimilated well as a middle hitter with 11 kills on .222 attacking and four blocks.

Senior Aleah Quast led the defensive effort and four players with 10-plus kills, tallying a match-high 28. Senior Rachel Lynde had 13 to go with eight kills and three service aces, while senior Abby Born finished with 11 digs, 34 assists, and a pair of aces.

Hailey Duncan had 15 kills to lead Manchester, which only slightly outhit the Raiders .094 to .067 in a tight match throughout.

Head coach Tom Wood fielded two different lineups on the day, taking advantage of the two matches to get playing time for 14 different players, just five of which appeared in both matches and just Brock playing as many as seven of the nine sets on the day.

The season-opening tournament continues Saturday, with the Raiders taking on Finlandia at noon and Dubuque at 2 p.m.