PLYMOUTH, Wis. – If you believe in momentum, then perhaps the Edgewood College volleyball team is peaking at the right time for next week's NACC Tournament. The Eagles ran their winning streak to four straight matches with victories on Saturday over Lawrence University and St. Norbert College. The matches were hosted by the Eagles' first round NACC Tournament opponent Lakeland University.
In the opening match, Edgewood College (18-13) received a huge performance from Emily Chaussee. Chaussee had 10 kills on 20 attempts without an error for a .500 attack percentage, in the Eagles 25-17, 29-27, 25-15 victory over Lawrence University (11-15). Savannah Koester scored seven kills, while Elizabeth Evans and Mackenzie Hannan had six each. Haley Schwenn led the Eagles with 16 assists, while fellow setter Alex Zapuchlak had 15 assists. Grace Zimmer had a team-high 13 digs in the back row.
In the second match, Savannah Koester became the Edgewood College volleyball program's all-time record holder in service aces. With two aces against Lawrence and two more against St. Norbert College (13-14) Koester reach 153 career aces in less than three seasons. Koester broke the record of 152 held jointly by Lindsey Swansby (2010-13) and Karen Rieder (1995-98).
In the match against the Green Knights, the Eagles won the first two sets before dropping their only set of the day in the third. Edgewood College recovered for a 25-18, 28-26, 26-28, 25-14 win. Chaussee had 17 kills, which was just one short of her career high, set earlier this season against Buena Vista University. Evans also reached double digits with 10 kills, and narrowly missed a double-double with nine digs. Koester added nine kills to her record-breaking aces. Jenna Dammen had a huge defensive game with seven blocks, including four solo efforts.
Edgewood College now turns their attention to the postseason, beginning with a Tuesday first round NACC match against Lakeland University. The fourth-seed Eagles have reached the NACC Tournament championship match in each of the last five seasons. The Eagles and Muskies will begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The winner advances to a semifinal match on Thursday against top seed Concordia University Wisconsin.
