Box Score

MADISON, Wis. - What started as a Northern Athletics Conference heavyweight showdown, ended up as a technical knockout in favor of the Edgewood College volleyball team. The Eagles ran their winning streak to six straight matches and improved to 6-0 in the NAC with a dominating performance over Benedictine University. Edgewood College swept all three sets by scores of 25-15, 25-23 and 25-15.

After trading punches in the first set, Edgewood College (12-10, 6-0 NAC) began pounding away at Benedictine's blockers. Lindsey Swansby sparked a 9-2 Edgewood College run with a kill. Kristin Manske scored three kills on the run. Edgewood College led 20-13 when Mallory Palmer served off four straight points to put the Eagles on the brink of winning set one. Freshman Jessica Martin finished the set two points later with her fourth kill of the match.

The teams went toe-to-toe in the second set, which featured 12 ties and four lead changes. Benedictine University (16-6, 5-2 NAC) gained a 17-15 advantage on a kill by Kara Zuro, but Edgewood College would rally back. Kills by Lindsey Swansby and Palmer sandwiched around a Benedictine attack error forced a Benedictine timeout. Palmer would then add back-to-back kills, followed by another kill from Martin to give Edgewood College a 24-21 lead. Benedictine's Kayla Leyden would then throw down a kill and then serve another winning point to cut the score to 24-23. But Edgewood College responded by going back to Martin and she finished the set with a kill off the Benedictine block.

The third set belonged to Edgewood College from the start. Edgewood College built a 14-4 lead on the strength of serving by Lindsey Swansby and Kim Lueck and never allowed Benedictine to get closer than eight points the rest of the match. Palmer finished the night in style with her 17th kill of the match.
Palmer posted a career-high .485 attack percentage, hammering home 17 kills against just one error. The reigning NAC Freshman of the Year recorded 15 straight kills without an error to end the match. Freshman Jessica Martin turned in another strong performance scoring 11 kills and hitting .333 coming off the bench. Kristin Manske hit a career-best .500 scoring seven kills in 14 attacks, without an error. Manske has 20 kills against just three errors for a hitting percentage of .513 over her last two matches.

Lindsey Swansby handed out 35 assists and picked up 12 digs. Only Lueck topped her digs, recording 13 of her own. The Eagles posted six blocks as a team with Manske, Palmer, Martin and Brittany Bylsma participating in two each.

Edgewood College will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when Aurora University visits the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The match will be broadcast live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com beginning at 12:00 p.m.