MADISON, Wis. – One day after clinching the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NACC Tournament on Senior Night, the Edgewood College volleyball team clinched a conference title outright while also extending their win streak to 12 matches after a pair of wins. The Eagles swept Concordia Chicago to round out an 11-0 NACC slate by scores of 25-12, 25-17, 25-13 and then took down Augustana College (Ill.) 20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-16.
The Eagles now own the NACC title all to themselves after sweeping a league opponent for the fifth time this season. Concordia Chicago was outmatched from the get-go, as the Eagles hit .289 on the night and were solid defensively throughout. They held Concordia Chicago to just a -.060 attack percentage and the Cougars racked up only 18 kills on the afternoon.
The Cougars had an attack percentage above .000 just once, as they hit .138 in set two. The Cougars were down 5-4 in that set before the Eagles exploded for seven-straight points to go up 12-4. Mackenzie Hannan started the run with a kill and ended it with another on an assist from Rachel Tesch.
The Eagles had little trouble again in the third, as the Eagles had three runs of at least four points. Alissa Swirth and Elizabeth Evans each had three kills in the set while Tesch had seven digs to push her total to 13 in the match.
Jordan Winkler led the Eagles in kills in the match with seven and had no errors in 12 attacks for a .583 attack percentage. Haley Schween assisted on 15 kills while Alex Zapuchlak was right behind with 14.
The Eagles got better as the match went on against Augustana and were unstoppable by the time the fourth set rolled around. Edgewood College's defense was the story in the nightcap, as they posted 13 team blocks and had 89 digs, led by Tesch's 32—which is just five off her career high—and Winkler's 24.
Renee Meister had six blocks while Jenna Dammen and Emily Chaussee each had five to help hold an Augustana team to just a .089 attack percentage. The Eagles started down 5-0 and could never quite get over the hump in the opening set despite hitting .200.
The Eagles showed once again how efficient they can be late in sets during the second, as they were down 24-21 before winning 27-25. Back-to-back Evans kills and a Chaussee spike tied things at 24 but Jacquel Kibir-Evans responded with a kill to make it 25-24. An Augustana attack error, a Savannah Koester kill and another Chaussee kill then allowed the Eagles to tie it at one set apiece.
The defense proved to be the difference-maker in the third set, as the Eagles finished with six team blocks—three of which came in the final four Edgewood College points.
Winkler and Chaussee were on fire in the final set, as each finished with six kills in the set to lift the Eagles to an easy 25-16 victory.
Chaussee tied a career-high with 18 kills while Winkler wound up with 11 as the Eagles pushed their win streak to 12, the second-longest in school history. The Eagles put together 13-straight in the 2012 season.
The Eagles will return to action at No. 16 UW-Stevens Point on Tuesday, Oct. 27. The match will take place at Berg Gymnasium and is slated for a 7 pm start.
