BOX SCORE

LISLE, Ill. – The Benedictine University volleyball team defeated Wisconsin Lutheran in four sets on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament at the Dan and Ada Rice Center.

The Eagles (23-9) came out strong in the first set but Wisconsin Lutheran (19-13) kept up, tallying 10 kills but it wasn't enough as the Eagles 16 kills gave them the 25-21 advantage. Benedictine had a 20-16 lead before letting the Warriors come back and take set two 26-24. 

Benedictine trailed 13-18 in the third set until kills from Kayla Leyden, Brooke Bowman and Candice Cuppini put the Eagles back in the game and allow them to win the set 25-22. In the fourth set, the BenU took a commanding 7-0 lead before WLC even scored, winning the fourth set 25-11 and recording a .435 hitting percentage with 12 kills and just two errors.

Leyden led all players and tallied a double-double with 24 kills and 20 digs while Cuppini had 14 kills and two block assists. Brooke Bowman tallied eight digs and three block assists while Jackie Rust had 10 digs. Kara Zuro and Taylor Hoppe combined for 46 assists on the night.

Erika Laete led Wisconsin Lutheran with 11 kills while Kayla Ridgeman registered 15 digs.

The Eagles will host the semifinal match of the NAC Tournament this Thursday, Nov. 4 when they take on the No. 8 seed Maranatha Baptist Bible College at 7:00 p.m. in the Rice Center.