DE PERE - St. Norbert College survived a close first set and then cruised the rest of the way to post a 3-0 win over Benedictine University in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match at Mulva Family Fitness & Sports Center.

The Green Knights (17-11, 9-3 NACC) topped the Eagles 25-23, 25-15, 25-13 and clinched a home quarterfinal-round match in the upcoming NACC Tournament.

The first set featured 16 ties and nine lead changes with Benedictine taking a 21-19 lead late. The Green Knights countered with kills by Heidi Colburn and Brooke Clement to tie it at 21-21. The Eagles got the next point but St. Norbert then went on a 4-1 run - getting the last two points after a 23-23 tie - to take a 1-0 lead. St. Norbert got the early jump in Set 2, taking a lead of 6-1. The Eagles got back to within 14-12, but St. Norbert went on a 6-0 run to pull away thanks to a pair of Clement kills and three consecutive Ellie Hartson service aces. The Green Knights wasted no time in Set 3, charging out to a 15-0 lead. Clement had five kills during the run, while Linnea Svennes added two.

St. Norbert hit .292 in the match, with 47 kills and 14 errors in 113 attempts. Clement, Alyssa Mills and Rylie Gregg all finished with 13 kills apiece. Ellie Hartson had 29 assists, pushing her past the 1,500 mark in career assists. Heidi Colburn added 10 assists. Hartson had five service aces and Clement added three.

Erin Eggers had 20 digs to lead the Green Knights. Clement had three blocks, while Svennes and Molly Rader had two blocks each.

Benedictine hit .130 for the match, with 28 kills and 14 errors in 108 attempts. Olivia McPherson had a team-high 13 kills.