Box Score

LISLE, Ill. –When playing postseason matches on the road, teams have to show composure if they want to come away with a victory and move on. The Edgewood College volleyball team showed that on Thursday night in their Northern Athletics Conference Semifinal at Benedictine University. Edgewood College rallied from a seven point deficit in the third set and used that momentum to take the fourth set 25-20, earning the 3-1 victory and advance to the championship match.

After splitting the first two sets, Benedictine (18-14) used an 8-0 run to take a commanding 21-14 lead in the third set before the tide turned. A service error gave Edgewood College a side out and brought Kristin Manske to the service line. Mallory Palmer hammered home three straight kills for the Eagles and Sarah Schuchhardt tied the match at 21 with one of her 12 kills in the match. Edgewood College (20-13) then gained a 22-21 lead, forcing a Benedictine timeout. Benedictine tied the set after the timeout before Edgewood College scored consecutive points to take a 24-22 lead. After a Benedictine point, Palmer ended the set with another kill to give Edgewood College the 2-1 match advantage.

Edgewood College used that momentum in the fourth set and took an 11-9 lead to force a Benedictine timeout. Benedictine gained a 15-14 lead, but it was short lived as Palmer followed with a kill. With the set tied at 17, Jessica Martin drilled home consecutive kills to give the Eagles a lead they would not relinquish. Benedictine followed with back-to-back attack errors and took a timeout trailing 22-18. Coming out of the timeout, Palmer recorded a kill and after Benedictine's Candice Cuppini made the score 23-19, Palmer smashed two more kills to give the Eagles a chance at match point. Benedictine tallied a point before Schuchhardt sent the Eagles to the championship match with the 25-20 win.

The first set was controlled by Edgewood College as the Eagles jumped out to a 12-4 lead, forcing Benedictine to use both of their timeouts. It appeared as though Edgewood College would cruise to the first set win, but Benedictine fought their way back and got to within three points at 23-20. However, Edgewood College held off the rally to take the set 25-21.

Benedictine quickly responded and gained a 7-3 lead in the second set before the Eagles came back to tie the set at eight apiece. From that point on, the set was very tight and Edgewood College held a 23-21 advantage and was on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead. However, Haley Fitzgerald started a 4-0 run to give Benedictine the 25-23 second set victory.

Edgewood College held Benedictine to a .103 attack percentage while the Eagles hit .197 in the victory. Palmer led Edgewood College in both kills and digs. She posted a match-high 20 kills to go along with 19 digs for the double-double. Schuchhardt followed with those 12 kills while Martin and Manske chipped in with 10 and nine kills, respectively. Sam Himmelspach registered 16 digs and Lindsey Swansby handed out 47 assists in the victory.

The win is Edgewood College's 20th win of the season, marking the first time since 1996 the Eagles have won at least 20 matches in a season. It is also the fifth time in school history the Eagles have reached the 20 win plateau.

Edgewood College moves on to the Northern Athletics Conference Championship match on Saturday at Dominican University. First serve from River Forest, Ill. is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Dominican will provide both live stats and live video. The links can be found on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.