MADISON, Wis. – On Wednesday, the Alverno volleyball team took on the Edgewood Eagles to open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. Ultimately, it was the host Eagles to come away with the straight-set 3-0 victory over the Inferno.

Freshman Kierra Sherlock led the Inferno as she took 20 swings on the night and notched seven kills to lead the team on offense. Junior Ari Rehberg was second on the team with five kills, while senior Melanie Coffey and junior Neilee Newton each tallied two kills apiece on the night.

Sophomore Alex McMath led the team with 12 of its 17 assists on the night, while both she and freshman Kenzi Kaminski picked up one kill apiece. Kaminski and junior Morgan Lemner added to Alverno's assist total with two apiece, while sophomore Isabelle Gemza added one helper.

Lemner led the Inferno with three aces on the night, while Rehberg, Newton, and Sherlock also added to Alverno's six aces on the night. Rehberg and Newton also combined on the lone Inferno block on the evening. Sherlock and Lemner both amassed seven digs, while Gemza and McMath both had six digs through the three-set match.

The Inferno fell behind in the opening set by an 8-3 margin, bur rallied back behind an error by the Eagles and an ace by Rehberg to get back within three at 8-5. Sherlock made the score 10-8 in favor of Edgewood as she picked up a kill, but the Eagles followed with nine of the next 10 points to pull away at 19-9 before closing out the opening set, 25-16.

In the second set Alverno got off to a quick start behind a pair of aces from Lemner before the Eagles evened the score at two. Edgewood wrestled back the lead and opened up an 11-3 advantage, which eventually swelled to 22-11. Newton and Sherlock connected on back-to-back kills but it was not enough as the Eagles closed out the set 25-13.

In the third set, Edgewood started out with the opening 13 points of the set and did not turn back. Sherlock put an end to the early rally with a kill off a dish from McMath, before the Eagles picked extended its lead to 20-8. Coffey and Sherlock got Alverno to within 10 before an ace by Lemner gave the Inferno three-straight. A block by Newton and Rehberg made it 20-12 in favor of Edgewood, as the Eagles closed out the set with five of the final seven points to emerge with the 25-14 third set victory.

Alverno (1-8, 0-1 NACC) will return to non-conference play this weekend and will take part in a pair of invitational events in Iowa. First the Inferno will head to Grinnell, to take on host Grinnell at 5 p.m. on Friday followed by a neutral site bout with Simpson. The following day, Alverno heads to nearby Pella, Iowa to take on Central at 11 a.m., followed by Bethel at 1 p.m.