FOND DU LAC, Wis. – It was a back-and-forth, thrilling NACC Volleyball match between Edgewood College and Marian University Wednesday night. The Eagles, who won the first two sets, ultimately needed to pull off a win in the tiebreaking fifth set, holding off the Sabres, 25-23, 25-15, 22-25, 17-25, 15-10.

After two sets, it seemed as if the Eagles would cruise to a conference win but the host Sabres had other ideas. Edgewood College rolled in the second set, taking a 2-0 lead before Marian responded with two-straight set wins. In the deciding set, the Eagles hit .231 and received three kills from Mackenzie Doherty to hold off the Sabres. Doherty finished the match with a team-best 10 kills.

The Eagles trailed 5-3 in the fifth set before rallying off four-straight points. Amanda Meister, who served for the final three points of the Edgewood College run, recorded an ace to tie the final set at 5-5. The teams traded points until the Eagles led 11-10 where they would ultimately go on to record the final four points for a 15-10 win. Brittany Sager held serve for the final run of the night and Doherty clinched the win with her 10th kill.

Sager and Alex Zapuchlak did an outstanding job serving up the Eagles hitters on Wednesday, each player finishing with 20-plus assists. Sager dished out 23 assists while Zapuchlak added 20. Zapuchlak is now eight assists shy of 2,000 for her career with two matches left to play for Edgewood College.

The Eagles played some excellent defense with four players recording double-digit digs. Sarah Uczen led the way with 19 digs while Sager added 18, finishing the match with a double-double. Meister (14) and Sarah Pfeifer (13) helped with the strong team defensive effort.

Edgewood College hit .107 for the night but ended the match by posting a .231 attack percentage in the deciding set. In addition to Doherty's 10 kills, Lizzie Lightner and Pfeifer chipped in with nine. Pfeifer and Nicole Schaeve each served up three aces as well.

The Eagles will conclude their 2018 season with two home matches Saturday at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. Edgewood College, which will be hosting a NACC-MWC Crossover Saturday, will take on St. Norbert at 10 a.m. and Lawrence at approximately 4 p.m. Lakeland University will battle both those schools as well at the Edgedome with the two matches taking place between the two Edgewood College contests.