EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The University of Northwestern had its opportunities, but lost its first of four matches this weekend to 22nd-ranked College of Saint Benedict 3-1 (16-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-23). After winning Set 1, the Eagles owned leads in the third and fourth sets in Friday's opener, yet couldn't get the job done late in the game.

In its second match of the day, Northwestern turned the tables, defeating Saint Mary's University 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 25-11, 26-24) to head into Saturday with a 1-1 record on the weekend and a 17-8 mark overall.

Northwestern hit a respectable .241, receiving double-digit kills from Hallie Mueth (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) (13), Lindsey Peterson (Sheffield, Iowa/West Fork) (11), and Cari Miller (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) (10). Playing in a new modified 5-1 offensive scheme, UNW's Leesa Hulstrand (Eden Prairie, Minn./Eden Prairie) and Lizzy Jonas (Neenah, Wis./Valley Christian ) combined for 44 assists.

Lizzy Potratz (Oshkosh, Wis./Valley Christian ), Jackie Foster (Charles City, Iowa/Charles City), Peterson and Mueth all had 10 or more digs with Faith Vander Galien (Chanhassen, Minn./Southwest Christian) leading the team with four blocks.

Sphie Stangl had 15 kills for the Blazers, whose Taya Kockelman tallied 50 assists in the match. Saint Benedict countered Northwestern's hitting numbers with a .262 hitting rate and 63 kills compared to 19 errors. The Blazers had eight blocks during the four-set bout, four of which were from the hands of Mary Franz.

Northwestern hit a solid .320 against the Cardinals from Saint Mary's, pushing through in the fourth set to win 26-24 in extra innings. Peterson paced the Eagles with 17 kills on 45 attempts, while Miller put down 11 kills to go with a .321 personal attacking rate.

With the match tied at 1-1 apiece, everyone wanted in on the action as UNW raced to a 25-11 victory in the third set. Six different Eagles had two or more kills in the round.

Defensively, Gonder recorded five blocks while Peterson had 17 digs.

Saturday's second day of the Wisconsin-Eau Claire Fall Classic won't be any easier for Northwestern, who will face off against Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 10 a.m. before wrapping up the weekend against No. 21 Millikin at 2:30 p.m.