DE PERE – St. Norbert College fought to a 3-2 victory over Benedictine University in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match at Mulva Family Fitness and Sports Center.
The Green Knights (4-15, 3-2 NACC) downed the Eagles 23-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-17, 15-7.
The first set favored Benedictine in the early stages, until a 4-0 run from the Green Knights tied the game at 11-11. St. Norbert did hold a 15-14 lead following two kills from Anna Kudick (pictured) before the Eagles regained the lead and took the first set. Following a 10-10 tie to open the second set, St. Norbert went on a 8-1 run to take a firm grip on the set. Three consecutive service aces from Maddie Kitowski and kills from Annabel Stevenson and Alli Clark finished off the second set.
A back-and-fourth third set eventually favored Benedictine, although St. Norbert held a 22-20 lead near the set's end. St. Norbert leveled up the match with a set four victory, hold its biggest lead up to that point as the Green Knights ended the set on a 6-2 run.
In the decisive set, St. Norbert used a big run behind multiple kills from Kudick to lead 9-3. Benedictine cut the lead to 12-7 before kills from Stevenson and Brooklyn O'Malley closed out a hard-fought victory.
St. Norbert hit .221 for the match, with 59 kills against 21 errors in 172 attempts. Kudick led the offense with 16 kills, while O'Malley had 13. Clark finished with 11 terminations. Keira Ashenfelter had a team-high 25 assists.
Stevenson had a game-high 27 digs, while Clark had 16. Kirsten Klatt was a force to be reckoned with at the net, totaling nine blocks. O'Malley recorded eight blocks.
Benedictine hit .073 for the match, with 46 kills against 33 errors in 177 attempts. Keira Clark had 12 kills for the Eagles.
