On Monday, August 21, Illinois Lutheran began the 2023 season at Crete-Monee with a non-conference match. The Chargers had a difficult start in the first set and found themselves behind 8-19. They were able to get to within four at 18-22, but lost the first set 18-25. The second set was much closer, with several ties and lead changes. The Chargers were up 22-18, but Crete-Monee came back to tie it, and it was back-and-forth until Crete-Monee took the set and match 30-28. Anna Oestmann ended with 2 aces, 3 kills, and 10 digs. Azaylia Sanchez added 6 kills and 2 digs, while Kailey Van Es had 6 assists, 2 kills, and a block assist.
Wednesday, August 23, Illinois Lutheran traveled to Momence for a River Valley Conference match. Illinois Lutheran was down by 5 early in the match but came back to tie it at 23. They were unable to get the last two points and lost 23-25. In the second set, the Chargers were down 8-13, when Anna Oestmann served 5 straight points (3 aces) to put the Chargers up 14-13. Later, with the score tied at 18, Momence got a side out and went on a 6-point service run to take the second set and the match 25-18. Anna Oestmann ended with 3 aces, 3 kills, and 8 digs. Kailey Van Es had 2 aces, 7 assists, 5 kills, 4 digs, and a block assist, while Emma Nagle had 3 aces, 8 assists and 3 digs.
To finish the week, Illinois Lutheran traveled to Heritage Christian in Dyer, Indiana, for a non-conference best three-out-of-five match on Thursday, August 24. The Chargers took the first set 25-23, then dropped the second set 21-25. The third set was again a close one, with the Chargers ending up on top 25-21. A tough fourth set gave the Chargers a 14-25 loss to set up the fifth set to 15. The last set was back and forth, and Heritage Christian was up late in the set, 13-11. A Charger side out and three straight points behind the serve of Emma Nagle gave the set and the match to the Chargers 15-13.
Kailey Van Es had a superb match collecting a triple double with 16 assists, 13 kills, and 12 digs. She also added 4 aces and 2 block assists. Anna Oestmann had a double-double, with 11 kills and 23 digs. Emma Nagle also had a double-double, with 22 assists and 10 digs, in addition to 2 aces. Freshman Calleigh Garret had a good game at the net collecting 3 solo blocks and 2 block assists, along with 3 kills. Mia Jacobucci had 22 digs, and Kimberly Danielewicz had 7 kills and a block assist.
The Chargers are now 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the RVC.