MADISON, Wis. – Despite four match points, the Edgewood College volleyball team dropped a five-set heartbreaker to No. 13 UW-Stevens Point, 3-2 (21-25, 25-18, 15-25, 26-24, 17-15), after a 3-1 (25-19, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22) win over Benedictine in their last two regular season home matches of the season on Saturday.
Senior Elizabeth Evans had a monster game with 15 kills and 20 digs, junior Emily Chaussee added 12 kills and a career-high 21 digs, and the Eagles posted a .201 attack percentage in a hard-fought home finale.
Leading 2-1 against UW-Stevens Point, the Eagles (14-12, 6-2 NACC) couldn't capitalize on a 24-21 lead in the fourth set as the Pointers rattled off five straight points, thanks to three Eagle attack errors, to force a final set. The Pointers had used a critical 12-5 run to get to that point after trailing 19-9.
It came down to the wire in a final set that featured 11 ties and seven lead changes, as the Pointers utilized a 4-1 run to turn a 14-13 match-point deficit into a 17-15 victory. The first four sets only saw six combined ties and three lead changes as both teams managed to grab a lead and hold onto it.
The Pointers' All-American outside hitter, Kelly Cefalu, added 25 kills and 11 digs in the win.
The Eagles dropped to 3-15 in the all-time series against the Pointers and were seeking their first win in three tries over a top-25 opponent this season.
In game one, the Eagles handled Benedictine, 3-1, behind 13 kills and 21 digs from Evans. Chaussee added 13 kills and 11 digs as the Eagles won their eighth straight home match.
The Eagles led the entirety of set one and set four, but split sets two and three in what became a back-and-forth battle. Up 18-15 in the second set, the Eagles gave up a 10-2 run by Benedictine (10-15, 4-4 NACC), to drop into a 1-1 tie. Benedictine had no such luck in the third as Edgewood College took the lead for good at 15-14 in a set that featured 11 ties and eight lead changes.
With the win, the Eagles improved to 9-7 against Benedictine with its sixth win in the last seven meetings.
Next up for the Eagles is a match at Concordia Wisconsin this Tuesday, October 18 at 7:00 p.m.
