Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Dominican University women’s volleyball team continued to play the nation’s top talent on Saturday, falling to a pair of ranked teams in #2 Calvin 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-18) and #5 Hope 3-1 (25-20, 25-14, 19-25, 25-19) on day two of the Midwest Invitational hosted by Hope College.
 
“I’m really proud of the girls,” said Ryan Baumgartner, the Stars’ second-year head coach.  “We found out this weekend that when we play our best, we can play with any team in the country.”
 
In the loss to Calvin, senior Jacy Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo.) paced the Stars’ offensive attack, knocking down 17 kills while posting a .289 hitting percentage with just four errors while taking 41 swings.  Freshman Caitlen Foote (Dexter, Mich.) added 14 kills of her own while Christina Wilson (Homer Glen, Ill.) dished out 41 assists.
 
Liz Yakey (Sun Prairie, Wis.) logged a team-high 20 digs while three others rounded out double-doubles led by Wilson and Foote who had 19 and 13 digs apiece.
 
Against Hope, Lawrence logged a double-double of her own with a team-high 14 kills and team-high 21 digs while Foote and Wilson logged their fourth double-double of the Midwest Invitational with 11 kills/15 digs for Foote and 35 assists/13 digs for Wilson. 
 
The Stars, at 20-6 overall, are now 2-4 against teams in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Top 25, with wins over Elmhurst (#9) and Carthage (#16).  Dominican has one more Top 25 opponent on the schedule as #12 University of Chicago visits the Igini Sports Forum on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. match.  The Stars then close out the 2012 regular season with three Northern Athletics Conference (NAC) tilts leading up to the NAC Tournament.