FOND DU LAC - St. Norbert College gained a big road win in Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play with a 3-0 sweep of Marian University at Sadoff Gym.
The Green Knights (8-16, 4-5 NACC) trimmed the Sabres (12-9, 5-4) by scores of 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 to stay in contention for a potential NACC Tournament berth.
St. Norbert trailed 2-1 in Set 1 but never trailed after that. The Green Knights held an 11-10 lead but then went on an impressive 9-1 skein to build a 20-11 edge paced by a pair of
Michael Whitney kills. The Sabres would score five straight points to get back to 20-16 but would get no closer.
Kaden Kornaus,
Kade Nelson and
Barry Applewhite had kills during the final five points for the Green Knights, while Nelson and Applewhite teamed up on a block.
Set 2 featured 10 ties and five lead changes, with the Green Knights eventually building a 16-13 lead on a Kornaus termination. Marian would respond and take leads of 19-18 and 20-19, but the Green Knights would record five consecutive kills off the swings of
Jake Bettag twice, Kornaus twice and Bettag again to take a 24-20 lead and eventually the set.
The third set saw St. Norbert trail 8-7 but then go on an 8-1 run to take a 15-9 lead. Kornaus had a pair of service aces and Nelson had two kills during the run. Marian would hang around but a 21-19 St. Norbert lead eventually turned into a 24-20 edge after an Applewhite kills. The Sabres would get two points before
Owen Knezevich wrapped up the win with a kill.
St. Norbert hit .312 for the match, posting 48 kills against 14 errors in 109 swings. Kornaus had 12 kills against two errors in 22 attempts, while Bettag had 11 kills with three errors in 19 attempts. Applewhite and Nelson had seven kills apiece. Whitney had 22 assists and
Eddie Pacula had 16 assists.
Kornaus picked up a double-double by registering a team-high 10 digs.
Ryan Conway had nine digs. Nelson finished with two blocks.
Marian hit .192 for the match, with 34 kills and 15 errors in 99 attempts. Cam Muller had 15 kills for the Sabres.
