Box Score

MADISON, Wis. -  The Edgewood College volleyball team may have needed an alarm clock to get going in their match against Concordia University Chicago, but once they did, the Eagles rolled past the Cougars 3-0 on Saturday afternoon at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. With the win, the Eagles likely improve their seed for the NAC Tournament which begins on November 3.

Concordia Chicago (13-14, 5-6 NAC) may have caught the Eagles napping early, scoring two blocks to take a quick 4-0 lead in the first set. It took Edgewood College much of the first set to overcome the Cougars' early lead, but once they did they didn't look back. The Eagles still faced a 17-12 deficit, when the offense kicked in. Back-to-back kills by Mallory Palmer and an assisted block by Palmer and Brittany Bylsma started the rally. Soon after, junior Kim Lueck scored six straight points on her serve, including a pair of aces and the Eagles had a 24-19 lead. After a Cougar sideout, senior Ellie Peckham answered with a kill to end the set 25-20. In all, the Eagles scored 13 of the final 16 points of the set.

The Eagles (14-14, 7-4 NAC) carried their momentum into the next set, opening with a 12-7 lead. However, back-to-back kills by Sarah Potter soon put the Eagles back in front 18-16. A kill by Alex Pinotti would give CUC a 24-22 lead and threatened to even up the match. After an Edgewood College timeout, Kristin Manske scored a kill for the Eagles. From that point, the Eagles went back to their leading hitter Palmer. The freshman from Poynette, scored a kill on the next point for a 24-24 tie, and then followed a Cougar attack error with another kill to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

There was no need for dramatics in the third set. Edgewood College jumped out fast to a 10-3 forcing the Cougars to call timeout. The Eagles would extend the lead to 22-12, before Concordia Chicago tallied five straight points. The Eagles would end the match on a Cougar service error, followed by consecutive assisted blocks. Dacy Swansby and Manske would team up on the first one, and then Manske would pair with Palmer on the final point of the match.

Palmer and Bylsma both had outstanding afternoons. Palmer had a match-high 16 kills, while Bylsma had 12 kills on 15 attempts with zero errors for a whopping .800 hitting percentage, the highest of the season by any Eagle with at least 10 kills. Her 12 kills also doubled her previosu season-high of six.

The Eagles' seven conference wins is their highest total under head coach Paul Schlomer and the most for an Edgewood College team since 1998. The Eagles currently hold the sixth seed for the NAC Tournament, by virtue of a tiebreaker over Wisconsin Lutheran College, with one NAC match to play. Edgewood College will conclude their home schedule next Wednesday with their second triangular of the season. The Eagles will face MSOE in their NAC finale at 4:00 p.m., before a non-conference match with UW-Stevens Point at 8:00 p.m.