WAUKESHA, Wis. - Young teams often struggle to remain mentally sharp during pressure-packed situations and finish with authority.
The Carroll University women's volleyball team experienced that firsthand as it lost to Wheaton College 25-22, 25-22, 25-22 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin dual meet at Van Male Field House on Tuesday night.
It was the third consecutive dual loss for the Pioneers, who dropped to 0-5 in the conference standings and 8-14 overall.
Forced to deal with the adversity created from missing a few starters as the result of injury, Carroll managed to build leads in all three sets but couldn't sustain the momentum.
Senior outside hitter Dana Voltolina (St. Charles, Ill.) had a team-high seven kills to lead the Pioneers, who continued their on-going quest for a first league victory of the season. 
"We fought hard throughout the course of the night, did our best to stay in the match and just couldn't pull it out," said Voltolina, the lone senior on the roster who has a team-leading 194 kills. "Having some people in new positions tonight, it frazzled us a bit at times so we did our best to adjust to the situation and work through it. 
"Even though it didn't work out, this should really act as a motivator to practice hard for our upcoming matches. As the season has gone on, we've had a lot of new, young players step into leadership roles on the floor so its been nice to watch that progression take place."
Sophomore middle blocker Erika Dunnam (Shawano, Wis.) followed with five kills and three blocks to lead a promising contingent of enthusiastic, young players for Carroll, which committed 10 of its 23 errors in the decisive third set.
Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Wilkins (Portage, Ind.) contributed four kills, four blocks and two service aces for the Pioneers, who generated eight aces, 11 blocks, 24 kills, 24 assists and 34 digs. Freshman middle blocker Rachel Noonan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) had four kills, a team-best eight blocks and an ace.
Sophomore outside hitter Kylie Mueller (Fox Lake, Ill.) collected three kills, sophomore libero Cassidy Mrotek (Manitowoc, Wis.) had 12 digs and sophomore setter Jennilyn Joy Cave (Bolingbrook, Ill.) added nine assists.
Carroll head coach Becca Saal noted that her squad continues to make strides in the right direction but needs to remain mentally tough and disciplined in order to reach its full potential.
"We were battling through a few key injuries and attempting to work with a different lineup tonight,"
said Saal, whose up-and-coming young team has already eclipsed the total number of victories from last season and shown its growth by competing in seven fierce, five-set matches. "That said, it's important that we become more mentally tough and continue to learn how to deal with adversity. We just need to come together as a team, execute and get the job done.
"With the talent and depth of the teams in the CCIW, everyone (referring to both the coaching staff and entire roster of players) needs to bring their very best each time we practice and then compete in the matches. When we're faced with challenging situations, we need to put on our game faces, stay determined and focus on finishing. If we can accomplish that and maintain a patient approach, good things will continue to happen."
Senior outside hitter Katie Rohrer, junior setter Kelly Thornton and sophomore outside hitter Madeline Moore each had eight kills to propel Wheaton, which captured its first conference victory and improved to 4-16 overall.