MADISON, Wis. - When you put four of the Northern Athletics Conference's biggest hitters on the same court, a volleyball match can start to look like a game of dodgeball. Edgewood College and Maranatha turned their NAC Tournament semifinal match into a shooting gallery with a dizzying display of power, but it was the Eagles who earned a 25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 25-23 victory. Edgewood College advances to their second straight NAC Tournament championship match, which they will host on Saturday night.

Edgewood College's Mallory Palmer and Jessica Martin engaged in a tag-team battle with Maranatha Baptist's Torey DeLozier and Laci Peterson for four sets. Palmer scored 22 kills, while Martin hammered out 18 kills. On the other side, DeLozier, who leads the nation in kills per set, piled up 32 kills to pair with Peterson's 16 kills. Those four players accounted for 88 of the 122 kills in the match.

In the end, however, it was the collective depth of Edgewood College (26-8) that made the difference. While no other player on Maranatha Baptist (19-4) had more than six kills, Edgewood College middle hitters Sarah Schuchhardt and Katie Wedvick had 10 and nine kills, respectively.

With rocket attacks coming from all directions, the back row players stood bravely in the line of fire. Palmer was on the receiving end as much as she was the other side, totaling a season-high 21 digs to give her, her fourth 20-20 match of her career, but first since 2009. Setter Lindsey Swansby, who had a milestone night of her own totaled 20 digs, while Edgewood College libero Sam Himmelspach turned away many of DeLozier's biggest shots had 17 digs.

With the third set tied 1-1, Swansby, only a junior, delivered another set which led to an Edgewood College kill as she had done 3,465 previous times in her career. This one was special, as assist number 3,466 broke the Edgewood College all-time assist record which has been held for the last 19 years by Lisa Wendt (1990-93). Wendt was on hand at the Edgedome for the passing of the torch, as the pair was honored briefly between the third and fourth sets. Swansby finished the match with a season-high 57 assists to bring her career total to 3,497 assists. Swansby also broke the Northern Athletics Conference all-time assist record earlier in the match, breaking Lakeland College's Jessica Sparling's record of 3,443 set from 2006-08.

Edgewood College led start to finish in the first set, and had a golden opportunity to go ahead 2-0 in the second set. The Eagles led 23-21 and had a match point at 24-22, but couldn't close out the Crusaders. Maranatha scored the final four points of the set to even the match at one set apiece.

The third set featured six ties and three lead changes, but it was a key 4-0 run that turned a slim 18-17 Eagles' lead into a more comfortable 22-17 bulge. Palmer and Martin scored kills to bring the Eagles to set point, before Wedvick and Martin teamed up for an assisted block on Peterson to win the set.

Edgewood College led the entire fourth set until DeLozier's 30th kill of the night brought Maranatha Baptist even at 21-21. Wedvick and DeLozier traded kills, as did Palmer and Delozier again to keep the fourth set deadlocked at 23-23. Schuchhardt then came through with an unassisted kill to force a Maranatha timeout at match point. With Swansby serving on match point, the Crusaders went to DeLozier for the 83rd time in the match, but Swansby dug it out and Palmer placed it perfectly in the deep corner to send the Eagles to the NAC Tournament title game.

Top-seeded Edgewood College will host No. 2 seed Benedictine University on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The winner of the NAC Tournament championship match will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships, while the loser is unlikely to receive an at-large bid. Last year, the third-seeded Eagles upset No. 1 Dominican University 3-2 to reach their first ever NCAA Tournament.

Saturday night's match will be broadcast live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com with Barry Adams and Suann Saltzberry calling the play-by-play action.