MADISON, Wis. – In their final pair of regular season home matches, the Edgewood College volleyball team put on a serving clinic and utilized 30 service aces, including 13 by Savannah Koester, and an offense that hit over .255 in both a dominant 3-1 win over Marian and 3-0 victory over North Central (Minn.) on Saturday afternoon.
The win over Marian assured the Eagles of their ninth straight berth into the NACC tournament starting on October 31.
Koester matched her own school record with eight aces in the opening match over Marian (9-14, 3-7 NACC). Koester, Renee Meister, and Erika Van Engen each posted 13 or more kills and hit over. 400 for an offensive unit that finished .326 overall. Van Engen reached a career-high with 15 kills and was crucial in putting away the Sabres towards the end of the fourth set.
Up 1-0, the Eagles (14-14, 7-3 NACC) trailed the entirety of the second set until a kill by Mackenzie Doherty gave the Eagles their first lead at 19-18. Despite two kills from Van Engen and a pair of aces from Koester, the Eagles stared down a 24-23 deficit. Renee Meister's two kills denied two set points, but the Sabres closed out on an Eagle service error and an ace of their own.
The Eagle offense made quick work out of the Sabres in a third set where they hit .455 and took advantage of a five-point run in the middle of the fourth set to pull away for their 13th straight win over the Sabres.
Offensive catalysts and setters Haley Schwenn and Alex Zapuchlak combined for 54 of the Eagles' 58 assists in the win.
Grace Zimmer posted career-highs with seven aces and 14 digs for an Eagle team that nearly tied the school record with 17 aces in an overwhelming 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-15) win over North Central (Minn.) in the final match of the day. Zimmer served up four of her aces amidst an impressive 14-0 run in the middle of the second set.
The Eagle defense limited the Rams (2-24) to 14 kills and .039 hitting percentage and peppered them with a number of well-placed serves led by Zimmer and Co. Koester, already the school career record holder with over 200 aces, added all five of her aces in the first set.
Tori Wiskow and Megan Schwartz each tallied seven kills and helped guide the Eagles to set leads of 15-7, 19-7, and 16-4, respectively, as they reached .500 in the win-loss column for the second time this season.
The Eagles await Rockford University on the road in their conference finale this Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Edgewood College is currently tied for third in the NACC standings and with a win could secure their eighth straight Top-3 conference finish.
