WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Alverno setter Shelby Metzger (Montreal, Mo./Camdenton) tallied 17 assists, 14 kills and 12 digs for her second-career triple-double, but it wasn't enough as the host Maranatha Crusaders defeated the visiting Inferno 3-0 Saturday night in Willis Denny Gymnasium.
Trailing 16-9 in the opening set, the Inferno (3-25, 0-11 Northern Athletics Conference) battled back to force a 23-23 tie on a Metzger kill. After a Crusaders' timeout, the host team rallied for the final two points to take the set 25-23.
In set two the Inferno again got behind 18-10, but used a 9-3 run, which included back-to-back service aces by Cali Trepp (Iron Mountain, Mich./Niagara), to cut the deficit to two. Yet the Crusaders (17-5, 7-4 NAC) held on for the 25-21 set win, and a 2-0 match lead.
Behind 24-14 in the third, the Inferno rattled off five straight, including kills by Metzger and Chelsea Gulbronson (Milwaukee/Pius XI) and another pair of aces by Trepp, but fell 25-19 for the 3-0 match sweep.
Metzger led the team in kills and assists, while Reagan Owen (Salina, Kan./Central) had a match-high 21 digs.
The Inferno close out the home portion of their 2011 schedule on Wednesday as they host Concordia Chicago in a NAC contest at 7 p.m. in Reiman Gymnasium.
