MILWAUKEE (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College took the opening set 25-22 from Benedictine, but the Eagles answered back with three straight set victories (25-21, 25-22, 25-21) for a 3-1 win over the Warriors on Saturday at Time of Grace Center.
WLC (7-11, 2-4 NACC) trailed for much of the first set, including 18-14 until a 7-0 scoring run gave them their first lead of the set. BenU would get no closer than two points as Wisconsin Lutheran took the opener 25-22. A back-and-forth second set featured seven ties and four lead changes, with the Warriors clinging to a 20-19 advantage. Benedictine evened the match by scoring six of the next seven points for a 25-21 win. WLC jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the third set following a kill from junior
Lydia Biggin (Burlington, Wis.). Wisconsin Lutheran led 13-12 before an Eagles' 7-1 scoring run gave them the lead for good. The Warriors would get no closer than two points late as BenUÂ went ahead in the match with a 25-22 victory. WLC found itself playing from behind for most of the fourth set, trailing by as many as six points at 15-9. Wisconsin Lutheran knotted the score for the final time at 16-16 before four straight points from Benedictine gave them the lead that they would never relinquish in a 25-21 set four final.
Biggin had 11 kills and a career-high five service aces for the Warriors, who hit .108 for the match. Junior
Lily Schuetz (Lake Mills, Wis.) hit .529 and added nine kills. Seniors
Emma Incaprero (Mauston, Wis.) and
Karah Valerio (Pewaukee, Wis.) collected 17 and 15 assists, respectively. Senior
Amahra Matthai (Plover, Wis.) recorded three total blocks. Sophomore
Shannon Rusch (Edgerton, Wis.) registered a career-high 23 digs, while senior
Kylee Gnabasik (Jefferson, Wis.) added 18 digs.
Olivia McPherson (16 kills, 11 digs) and Kiara McPherson (36 assists, 10 digs) each tallied double-doubles for the Eagles (9-9, 4-1 NACC), which hit .200 for the match.
WLC travels to De Pere on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. NACC matchup with St. Norbert (11-10, 5-1 NACC). Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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