Box Score (vs. Knox)
Box Score (vs. Dubuque)

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Edgewood College volleyball team took a tough split at the University of Dubuque Triangular. The Eagles swept Knox College, but couldn't top the host Spartans. Edgewood College had a 2-1 lead, only to see Dubuque fight back and take the final two sets for the 3-2 victory.

The Eagles jumped ahead of Knox (0-5) early, taking the first set 25-10. In the first set, Edgewood College hit .379, recording 12 kills while making only one error. Edgewood College only got better in the second set, knocking out 13 kills against only two errors for an attack percentage .458, taking the set 25-15. In the third set, the Eagles hit .357 to earn the 25-13 win and take their first sweep of the season.

In the match, the Eagles hit .403, marking the first time since last year that they hit over .400 in a match. The Eagles hit .473 at Concordia University Chicago on October 23 last season. Mallory Palmer led the Eagles with nine kills while Brittany Bylsma and Jessica Martin recorded five kills apiece. Lindsey Swansby tallied 15 assists and Palmer also led the team with seven digs.

Kelly Ricketts led the Prairie Fire with seven kills and Lisa Bragg recorded a match-high 16 assists. Brittany Wisniewski posted a match-high 11 digs.

Some of the momentum seemed to carry over into the next match against Dubuque (5-1), with the Eagles (3-3) taking the first set 25-23. The Spartans answered with a 25-21 win before the Eagles took a 2-1 advantage with a third set victory by the score of 25-21.

Edgewood College's momentum seemed to run in the fourth set as the home standing Spartans won the four set in convincing fashion. After the score was tied at 11, Dubuque separated themselves from the Eagles, outscoring them 14-4 the rest of the way to take the set 25-15.

Trailing 11-6 in the fifth set, Edgewood College tried to mount a comeback, forcing a Dubuque timeout trailing 11-10. Out of the timeout, the Eagles tied the score, but the Spartans scored the next three points to take a commanding lead and earn match point. The Eagles tallied a point, but the Spartans ended the match with the 15-12 victory.

Palmer and Martin both set season-high's with 21 and 13 kills, respectively. Swansby led the team with 45 assists to go along with 17 digs. Rachel Thomsen also posted 17 digs Laura Sweeney had 18 digs while Sam Himmelspach recorded a team-high 24 digs.

The Eagles will be in action again this Saturday at the UW-Platteville Tournament where they will play Central College and Loras College. The match with Central is at 10:00 a.m. and the Eagles will square off with Loras at 12:00 p.m.