MADISON, Wis. - If it's important to play your best heading into the postseason, then the Edgewood College volleyball team might be peaking at the right time. On Tuesday night, the third-seeded Eagles blew past sixth-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran College in straight sets 25-17, 25-15, 25-23 in a first round NACC Tournament match. It was the Eagles sixth win in a row, and sets them up for a semifinal match at second-seeded Aurora University on Thursday night.

In the first set, Edgewood College (18-14) deployed a favorite tool of their recent win streak; the service ace. The Eagles unloaded eight aces on the Warriors in the first set, led by three from senior Haley Schwenn. Savannah Koester, the Eagles all-time service ace record holder had back-to-back aces in a kry run that put the Eagles ahead 15-12. Mackenzie Doherty had four kills in the first set. The Eagles would finish the match with 14 aces, setting a new NACC Tournament record.

The Eagles were nursing a modest 10-8 second set lead before exploding for a 13-2 run and putting the set out of reach. Sarah Uczen delivered back-to-back aces while Doherty, Koester and Renee Meister each had a kill and a block in the run. Edgewood College hit a match-high .357 in the second set.

Wisconsin Lutheran College (13-18) was bound to make the Eagles work for the sweep, however. The Warriors jumped ahead 19-13 before Edgewood College started gain traction. Koester scored kills on four of the next five points to start the rally, and Schwenn forced a 21-21 tie with her fourth ace of the match. The Eagles trailed 23-22 before scoring the final three points of the match. Meister and Koester delivered kills, and the Warriors misfired on match point to advance the Eagles to the semifinal round.

Koester led the Eagles with 10 kills, an attack percentage of .444 and scored three aces, bringing her school record season total to 78 aces. Doherty finished with nine kills, while Erika Van Engen had seven kills and 11 digs. Uczen led the serving attack with five aces, and the back row defenders with 13 digs. Schwenn totaled 20 assists and four aces, while Alex Zapuchlak has 10 assists and two aces. Edgewood College has averaged 12.8 aces per match and 3.5 aces per set over their current six-match winning streak.

Wisconsin Lutheran was led by Alysha Kahlow with eight kills. Ashley Dryssen had 17 assists and 12 digs for the Warrirors, who ended their season by qualifying for the NACC Tournament for the first time since 2013.

With the win, Edgewood College advances to the NACC Tournament semifinals for the ninth straight season. The Eagles are 5-3 in previous semifinal matches, and are looking for their first NACC Tournament title since 2011. The Eagles will face Aurora University at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night. The game can be seen live on EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com/coverage.