MADISON, Wis. – It probably wasn't the battle they expected to get, but there's nothing like a close match to prepare a team for the postseason. The Edgewood College women's volleyball team held off a scrappy Concordia University Chicago team in five sets 25-27, 25-22, 25-17, 24-26, 15-6. The win locked the Eagles into the fourth seed for the NACC Tournament which begins on November 1.
Edgewood College (16-13, 8-3 NACC) opened up a 14-6 lead in the opening set, but the Cougars rallied back to earn a set point at 24-23. The Eagles got back-to-back kills from Emily Chaussee and Tori Wiskow to reach their own set point, but Concordia University Chicago scored the last three points of the set for the win.
The Eagles went ahead 2-1 winning the second and third sets, getting five kills each from Savannah Koester and Chaussee. Concordia responded by taking the fourth set, despite the fact that the Eagles hit their best percentage of the match to that point at .219.
However, the Eagles would blow that number away in the fifth set. After leading 5-3, the Eagles would go on a 6-1 run with three kills from Chaussee and one each by Megan Schwartz and Aga Sron. CUC scored twice, but the Eagles finished the match with four straight points. The Eagles hit .579 scoring kills on 12 of their 15 points in the final set.
Chaussee had six of her team-high 16 kills in the fifth set. She also added 16 digs for a double-double. Elizabeth Evans also had a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs. Koester added 10 kills and eight service aces. Haley Schwenn had 22 assists to lead the team while Alex Zapuchlak added 17 assists. Edgewood College matched their season-high with 15 service aces.
Concordia Chicago had three players in double figures in kills led by Arendia Ruiter with 16 kills. Austin Thompson and Raven Burns had 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
Edgewood College will finish the regular season next Saturday at a quadrangular at Lakeland University, with matches against Lawrence University and St. Norbert College. The Eagles will open the NACC Tournament against that same Lakeland University team on Tuesday, November 1 at the Todd Wehr Edgedome.
