MADISON, Wis. (WLCSports.com) - Wisconsin Lutheran College suffered its first Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference loss of the season on Thursday, falling to Edgewood 3-1 at Todd Wehr Edgedome.
The Warriors (5-9, 2-1 NACC), who tied a season-high with six solo blocks, fell to the Eagles by scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16.
The opening set featured 11 ties and three lead changes, as EC held its largest lead at 14-10. WLC knotted the first set score four times after that but was never able to jump in front. Edgewood tallied the final three points of the set for a 25-22 victory.
Wisconsin Lutheran scored the first four points of the second set and never relinquished its lead. The Eagles came within a point at 8-7, but the Warriors put together an 11-4 scoring run to tie its largest lead of the set. EC closed within three points at 23-20, but WLC evened the contest with a 25-20 win.
A 6-0 run from Edgewood erased a two-point deficit early in the third set. The Eagles never gave up their lead despite Wisconsin Lutheran coming within two points on four separate occasions. EC led by as many as seven points late before jumping in front in the match with a 25-19 triumph.
The Warriors and Edgewood were tied twice early in the fourth set. WLC trailed 8-7 before a 6-1 run gave the hosts a six-point advantage. After Wisconsin Lutheran came back to within two points at 15-13, the Eagles pulled away with a five-point swing to push them to a 25-16 win.
Freshman
Brady Pichler (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) recorded a match-high 15 kills and junior
Drew Wempner (West Allis, Wis.) added seven kills, two aces, and two solo blocks. Senior James Biedenbeder (La Crosse, Wis.) tallied his second double-double of the season with 28 assists and 10 digs. Freshman
Noah Kern (Brookfield, Wis.) collected a team-high 12 digs. Sophomore
Josh Ward (Mukwonago, Wis.) tied a career- and match-high with five total blocks. The Warriors hit .163 with 38 kills, 17 errors, and 129 attempts.
Will Gehrke recorded a match-high 41 assists and three players posted 11 kills apiece for EC (4-8, 1-2 NACC), which hit .162 with 53 kills, 31 errors, and 136 attempts.
WLC hosts Lakeland (6-8, 0-2 NACC) on Saturday for a 12 p.m. NACC match at Time of Grace Center. Live coverage links can be found at WLCSports.com.
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