(ST. NORBERT COMMUNICATIONS) DE PERE – St. Norbert College made a run at one of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference contenders but eventually fell just shy with a 3-2 setback to Edgewood University at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.
The Green Knights extended the second-place Eagles before succumbing 24-26, 25-11, 25-18, 23-25, 15-12.
St. Norbert trailed 14-11 in Set 1 before a 7-1 run put it ahead 18-15, led by a pair of kills each from Alli Clark and Brooklyn O’Malley. The set was tied 23-23 and 24-24 before the Green Knights got a block from O’Malley and Kayden Lamon and a service ace from Emily Kitowski to take a 1-0 lead. St. Norbert never led in Sets 2 and 3, with the Eagles taking a 2-1 lead with a combined 27 kills in the two sets.
The Green Knights bounced back in Set 4, leading for all but a 1-0 deficit. St. Norbert held a 13-12 lead before a 6-2 run gave the host some breathing room and a 19-14 lead. The Eagles would push all the way back to tie it at 23-23 before an Edgewood error and a St. Norbert block by Emma Dries and Frances McGann knotted the match up at 2-2.
The decisive fifth set featured eight ties and three lead changes. St. Norbert led 8-7 before a 3-0 Edgewood response gave it a 10-8 lead. The Green Knights had things tied at 10-10, 11-11 and 12-12 before the Eagles had a pair of kills sandwiched around a service ace to secure the road win.
St. Norbert hit .122 for the match, getting 50 kills against 27 errors in 189 swings. Lamon had 11 kills and O’Malley 10. Keira Ashenfelter had 20 assist, while Alayna Glidden added 16. Glidden and Kitowski each had two service aces.
Elaina Butz (pictured) and Annabel Stevenson each had 15 digs, while Ashenfelter added 14 and Kitowski 11. The Green Knights totaled 15.5 team blocks, with O’Malley getting seven, Lamon five and Kirsten Klatt five. Stevenson added three.
Edgewood hit .206 with 70 kills against 29 errors in 199 attempts. Molly Amendt had 18 kills to lead the Eagles.
