Box Score

In front of a packed Dan and Ada Rice Center, the Benedictine University volleyball team defeated Illinois Wesleyan University in a five set thriller on Wednesday night in non-conference action.

After winning the first and third set, Benedictine (7-8) had a four-point lead in the fifth set, 9-5, before Illinois Wesleyan (9-7) came back to tie the set at 10. Illinois Wesleyan took a 13-11 lead but a kill from Candice Cuppini put BenU within one. After back-and-forth plays the Eagles tied the match at 14 with a kill from Nicole Adams. The Titan offense would not quit, taking a 15-14 lead but kills from Ashley Karsten and the final one from Molly Kovacich sealed the Eagles 3-2 victory over Illinois Wesleyan.

Benedictine won the first set 25-23 before losing the second set 25-21. The Eagles were on fire in the third set, tallying 16 kills and a .560 hitting percentage for the 25-14 win. But it was Illinois Wesleyan who came out on top in the fourth set, winning 25-18 followed by a 17-15 win in set five.

As a team, the Eagles tallied 60 kills and 10 team blocks while Cuppini led all players with 21 kills and a .410 hitting percentage. Kovacich had 10 kills while Adams recorded four block assists and one solo block along with 10 kills. Mailani Burton hit .500 on the match with eight kills while Ashley Karsten tallied four kills in five attempts. Defensively, Haley Fitzgerald had 11 digs and Andraia Leja had eight digs. Jacki Kaluzny and Cuppini each had seven digs.

Benedictine travels to Wisconsin Dells, Wis. this weekend to compete in the Illinois-Iowa Crossover Challenge. The Eagles take on Coe College and Wartburg College on Friday night and University of Dubuque and Loras College on Saturday afternoon.