FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) –The Marian University women's volleyball team ran into a juggernaut in Mallory Palmer of Edgewood College as her 20 kills led the Eagles to a three-set Northern Athletics Conference sweep (25-20, 25-17, 25-18) of the host Sabres, this evening, Sept. 25.

The Sabres struggled offensively and Palmer and the Eagles weren't giving them much of an opportunity to make up for it on the other end either. The EC outside hitter finished with a match-high 20 kills on 41 attempts with just two errors for a .439 hitting percentage. She added a block, three aces and five digs as well.

Marian logged an .021 attack percentage for the match and fell for the first time in league play, dropping to 10-8 overall, 2-1 in the NAC. Meanwhile, Edgewood improved to 12-4 (3-1 NAC).

In the first set, Marian battled back from a 16-11 deficit to tie the match at 20-all, but the Eagles put the set away as Palmer added two kills in the midst of a set-ending five-point run.

The second set was more of the same when the Eagles jumped out to a big advantage and never looked back. After cutting the lead to 13-10, EC embarked on a 7-2 run, which was capped by a Katie Wedvick block, forcing a Marian timeout.

The Sabres responded with three straight points thanks to an Aileen Maier kill and a pair of blocks involving Katie Reimer, Carlie Kinsey and Maier. That was as close as it got, however, as Edgewood cruised to the 25-17 win.

The third set was the best for the Sabres offensively, but only managed seven kills in all for an attacking percentage of .148. Meanwhile, Edgewood hit .278 and totaled 16 kills against six errors on the way to a 25-18 win and match sweep.

Anna Smit led the Sabres with five kills, while Reimer dished out 12 assists and Katrina Jansen and Casey Lamberty each recorded double-digit digs with 12 and 10, respectively.

The Sabres will be back in action Friday, Sept. 28, to take on Benedictine in Lisle, Ill.