MILWAUKEE – The Alverno volleyball team played host to the Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders on Tuesday evening in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference matchup from the Reiman Gymnasium. After splitting the first four sets of the match it was ultimately the Raiders to come out on top with an 18-16 fifth set victory to win the match.

MSOE took the opening set by a 25-22 margin before Alverno answered with a 25-23 set two victory. The Raiders one the most one-sided set of the night 25-17 in the third before the Inferno rallied to take the fourth set by a 26-24 score.

Alverno's offense was spearheaded by junior Ari Rehberg, who led the three-headed attack with a career-high 19 kills on the evening as she hit .351 on the night. Junior Neilee Newton also had a career night with 14 kills on the evening while freshman Kierra Sherlock added 13 kills of her own. As a team Alverno hit .160 on the night, with the Inferno also getting a pair of kills from sophomore Alex McMath, and one from senior Melanie Coffey.

McMath also had a career night as she tallied 40 assists on the night, which shattered her previous career-high of 33 set earlier this season against St. Norbert. Alverno had 14 aces on the match with a match-high four coming from Newton, while Sherlock and junior Morgan Lemner each had three apiece. McMath and sophomore Isabelle Gemza picked up two aces each on the night as well.

Lemner notched her second highest dig total in her three-year career to date as she collected 26 digs on the night, still eight shy of her previous career-high of 34 set last season in a five-set match against Mount Mary. The Inferno had a combined six blocks on the match with solo blocks from both Rehberg and freshman Kenzi Kaminski, while Rehberg also had three assisted blocks with McMath also registering a pair of assisted blocks.

After splitting the first four sets evenly on the night with each side winning a pair, Alverno went to a fifth set for the first time this season, while MSOE entered their eighth five-setter of the season.

The Raiders looked to put the match away early with a dominant 8-2 burst out of the gate to make the switch ahead by six points. Rehberg picked up a kill to give service back to the Inferno followed by a kill by Sherlock to pull Alverno back within five.

An attacking error by MSOE was answered by an attacking error by the Inferno as the score was 10-5 in favor of the Raiders. Alverno then rattled off three-straight points as Sherlock collected a kill followed by a block by Alverno and an attacking error by MSOE to pull the Inferno back within two. The Raider lead went back to four on back-to-back kills by MSOE to make the score 12-8.

Coffey picked up a timely kill to make it 12-9 before a pair of MSOE miscues pulled Alverno back within one. Rehberg tied the score at 12 before a Lemner service ace gave the Inferno its first lead of the fifth set. Rehberg and Coffey connected on a block to give the Inferno match point at 14-12, but the Raider scored the next two to even the set at 14.

Both teams exchanged kills before an attack error by the Raiders gave Alverno match point once again, but MSOE answered with three consecutive points to stave off the Inferno and escape by the slimmest of margins for the victory, 18-16.

Alverno (1-24, 0-10 NACC) will look to regroup as the team will play its final road match of the season on Friday evening at Illinois Tech for a 7 p.m. start in Chicago against the Scarlet Hawks.