The Benedictine University women's volleyball team dropped a five-set match to Marian University in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference action on Friday night.
The Eagles (6-17, 4-2 NACC) trailed for most of the first set but made a late run on a kill from
Erin Wiegand and an
Andraia Leja ace, but Marian (7-14, 3-2 NACC) ended up with the 25-22 win.
In the second set it was Benedictine who took an early lead, 16-12, as the offense caught fire. Marian slowly crept back to tie it at 23. Both teams traded points until a Wiegand kill and a Marian error gave BenU the 29-27 lead.
Despite taking an 8-3 advantage in set three, Benedictine allowed the Sabres to go on a 10-3 run in the middle of the set that tied it at 22. Two BenU errors and a kill from Marian gave MU the third set, 25-22.
The Eagles trailed early in the fourth but powered back with kills from
Ashley Karsten and
Emily Chitwood. Both teams traded points down the stretch but it was BenU who took the 25-23 win that included three straight aces from
Keriann Groen and force a fifth set.
Marian's offense came alive in the fifth set, tallying eight kills, allowing them to defeat the Eagles 15-12.
As a team, the Eagles out-hit the Sabres 65 kills to 59 and edged them in digs 91-90. Benedictine had nine total blocks.
Three players hit in double-figures: Groen, who also had three aces, and Chitwood tallied 13 and Wiegand with 11.
Kara Epping had 10 kills and three block assists. Defensively, Leja had 25 digs while
Caitlyn Martin recorded 21.
Kelcey Adams had two aces and 13 digs while
Abby Screnock had 53 assists and 15 digs.
The Eagles are back in action tomorrow morning when they host Lakeland College at 11:00 a.m. in the Rice Center.
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