RIVER FOREST, Ill. – It's always a great show when Edgewood College and Dominican University's volleyball teams share the same floor, and Wednesday night was no exception. In a rematch of the last three NACC Tournament championship matches, the Stars claimed a 3-1 victory (25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24) to take a key win in the race to the NACC regular season championship.
Looking back at the match, Edgewood College (7-9, 2-1 NACC) might consider what might have been if they had held on to the first set. The Eagles rallied from two points down to take a 21-18 lead with a pair of kills by Elizabeth Evans and another by Emily Chaussee. However, Dominican University (5-12, 3-0 NACC) regrouped after a timeout, scored seven of the next eight points to claim the opening set 25-22.
The Eagles nearly pulled a comeback of their own in set two after falling behind 12-4 in the early going. Edgewood College hadn't really trimmed the lead and still trailed 20-13 before assembling a rally. Erika Van Engen opened an 8-1 Eagle run with a kill and then closed it with an ace to tie the set at 21-21. A kill from Savannah Koester kept the match even at 22-22, but Stars scored the last three points to put the Eagles into a 2-0 hole.
In the third set, the Eagles were again tied late with the Stars at 20-20, before a kill from Evans and a Dominican attack error gave them a two-point margin. After the Stars closed to 22-21, Renee Meister scored a kill and a solo block on back-to-back points and Evans finished the set with another kill to extend the match to a fourth set.
Edgewood College rallied again in the fourth set, trailing 17-12, but turning the momentum around to tie the set at 20-20. The teams were tied again at 23-23 when Meister put down another kill to give the Eagles a set point. However, Edgewood College couldn't force a fifth set. Dominican's teamed for an assisted block to tie the match and the won it with a service ace from Jackie Mursuli and a kill by Rosalyn Wyse.
Evans had another big night for Edgewood College with 16 kills and just four errors in 49 attacks. Her .245 hitting percentage led the team. Meister finished with seven kills and shared team-high honors with Evans and Jenna Dammen with three blocks. Nichole Schaeve posted 16 digs in the back row, while Alex Zapuchlak and Haley Schwenn each finished with 20 digs. The Eagles hit .116 for the match, compared to Dominican's .159 attack percentage.
Rosalyn Wyse led the Stars with 11 kills, while Tessa Griparis, Kendyl Todd and Alex Kisten had nine apiece.
Edgewood College will play their first home match in 17 days this Friday against Alverno College. The Eagles and Inferno will start at 7:00 p.m.
