KENOSHA, Wis. – The Edgewood College volleyball team squared off against two of the region's top teams on Friday at the Carthage College Invitational. The Eagles took a set from both 15th-ranked Elmhurst College and Carthage College, but fell 3-1 in each match. The Eagles will try to erase their three-match losing streak with two more matches in Kenosha tomorrow.
Everything went the Eagles way early on against Elmhurst College (8-1). After the Bluejays scored the first point, Elizabeth Evans answered with a kill to tie the match, sparking a nine-point service run by Kaelyn Kessel for a fast 10-1 Eagles lead. Elmhurst rallied back to take a 20-18 lead before Edgewood College (3-6) made their decisive run. Jordan Winkler had two kills in a 6-0 run to put the Eagles ahead 24-20, before they closed it out at 25-23 on a kill by Savannah Koester.
The Bluejays responded by rolling to a 25-11 second victory and took the third set as well 25-17. In set four the margin between the two teams was never more than three points. The Eagles fought off three match points before Elmhurst's Mary Lawrence and Jackie Pavilonis teamed up for the Bluejays' 14th block of the match for the 3-1 victory.
Winkler finished with a double-double at 14 kills, 13 digs and a team-high .400 hitting percentage. Rachel Tesch had 16 digs, while Renee Meister recorded four assisted blocks. Rachel Thomsen handed out 22 digs.
In the second match, Carthage College (8-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead with a 25-19 first set win, before the Eagles matched them in the second set. Trailing 17-16, Carly Reuter scored a kill to spark a 6-0 Eagles run. Reuter had another kill in that run as did Evans and Meister, while Sarah Schuchhardt contributed a solo block. The Eagles hung on for a 25-23 second set win, ended on a kill by Winkler. However, Carthage College, recorded 25-18 and 25-22 wins in the next two sets to claim the match.
Meister was Edgewood College's kill leader, coming off the bench for nine kills, while Koester, Evans and Reuter each finished with eight kills for the Eagles. Tesch accumulated 22 digs to lead four Eagles who had double figure digs. Schuchhardt matched her career-high with six blocks, including three solo efforts.
Edgewood College will return to the campus of Carthage College on Saturday to complete the invitational. The Eagles will face the University of Chicago first, followed by Alma College.
