MADISON, Wis. – If the Edgewood College team has proved anything this year it's the fact that they are nearly unbeatable on their home court and that they are capable of beating some of the region's top teams. The Eagles improved to 6-1 at the Todd Wehr Edgedome this season with a pivotal NACC win over Dominican in five sets and an impressive non-conference win over WIAC foe UW-La Crosse.
The Eagles (12-8 overall, 4-0 NACC) now sit tied atop the conference with Concordia Wisconsin after a thrilling 25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 18-25, 16-14 win over reigning NACC champions Dominican University early Saturday afternoon. The Eagles were lights out in the first two sets before faltering defensively in sets three and four against the Stars. They then grinded out a 16-14 win in the final set after being down 13-11.
In the deciding set, Elizabeth Evans was set up beautifully by freshman setter Alex Zapuchlak and recorded a kill to bring the Eagles to within one. The point prompted a Stars timeout, but Dominican's Erica Freudinger came out of the break and committed an attacking error to even the score.
Sophomore outside hitter Emily Chaussee then wowed the crowd with a monster kill in the next rally—again from Zapuchlak—to give the Eagles the 14-13 lead. Maddi Zanoni made it 14-all one play later but Evans and Chaussee struck again for an Eagles team that hit .200 in the match with back-to-back kills to hand the Stars their first conference loss since the 2013 season. Edgewood College won that match in five sets on Oct. 13, 2013 in the Edgedome.
Chaussee tied her career-high with 16 kills and threw in nine digs as well. Senior outside hitter Jordan Winkler was the other Eagles player in double figures after finishing with a double-double (13 kills, 19 digs). Haley Schwenn (24 assists) and Zapuchlak (23) split setting duties for the Eagles while senior defensive specialist Rachel Tesch racked up 20 digs.
In the nightcap against UW-La Crosse, Edgewood College took advantage of offensive troubles from the opposition in the first set and then hung on with victories in sets three and four, eventually winning 25-13, 20-25, 25-19, 25-20. UW-La Crosse had 10 attack errors in the first set (-.094 attack percentage) while Edgewood College committed only three (.154) to take the set by a wide margin. The Eagles finished the set with a 16-4 run.
The Eagles never led in set two but there were six lead changes before UW-La Crosse went up for good with a Leah Putzier kill to lead 13-12. The third set featured many ties and lead changes early on as well before Edgewood College slowly built a lead after hitting .226 in the set.
Edgewood College saved its best for last after hitting .273 in a set that started with a 7-1 Edgewood College lead. Edgewood College kept the pressure steady and led 22-14 at one point before a late UW-La Crosse push.
Chaussee and Winkler each had 10 kills to lead the Eagles. Both players finished with double-doubles, as Winkler posted 10 digs and Chaussee managed a game-high 15. Evans and Renee Meister each had five block assists to pace the defensive effort.
Edgewood College is now off until they will meet another WIAC opponent in UW-Platteville on Wednesday, Oct. 7. The match will take place in Williams Fieldhouse in Platteville, Wis., and is scheduled to begin at 7 pm.
