MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood College Eagles women's volleyball squad hosted the Edgewood College Triangular Saturday at the Edgedome. They played against Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) foe Aurora and no. 15 UW-Stevens Point on the afternoon. The Eagles (14-9, 7-2) fell to the Spartans (16-7, 8-1) in 3-0 fashion, before upending the nationally ranked Pointers (19-5) in a 3-1 victory.
MATCH ONE: AURORA 3, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-19)
- The two NACC squads exchanged early 5-2 runs to sit tied at seven all. A 5-1 Eagle burst gave them a 12-8 advantage, but the Spartans took momentum with an 8-2 reply. Aurora would never trail for the rest of the set.
- The teams traded small runs early in the second set, with the Spartans finding the first real advantage after a 5-2 run to take a 12-10 edge. Edgewood College would battle back to a 16 all tie, but a 5-1 Aurora run would put them ahead 21-17. The Eagles would battle back within 24-23, but the Spartans found their last point in the set.
- The third set was all Aurora as they took an 11-4 lead. Edgewood College would never close within five from that point on, though a last gasp 5-1 rally put them down 24-19 before the Spartans finished the job.
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Taylor Salmon had 20 assists for the Eagles and
Abigail Hoffmann 12 assists.
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Lea Bunch and
Ashley Bruehlman finished with 17 and 11 digs respectively.
- Bruehlman, Hoffmann, and
Abbey Falk all had nine kills. Falk tacked on three blocks.
- Aurora outhit Edgewood College .276 to .165
MATCH TWO: EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 3, NO. 15 STEVENS POINT 1 (15-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22)
- The Pointers jumped out to a 14-2 lead in the first set. The Eagles replied with a 7-0 sprint, but Stevens Point cruised to their only set victory of the match.
- The two teams spent the majority of the second set jockeying for lead position. Edgewood College grabbed a crucial 5-1 sprint late to go up 21-16 and would go on to win 25-21.
- The Pointers jumped out to a 5-2 lead in set three, but the Eagles clawed the lead down to 7-6. An 8-1 follow-up would put Edgewood College ahead 15-11, but Stevens Point answered with a 6-0 burst for a 17-15 lead. They would lead 20-17 before the Eagles found another gear with a 6-0 swing to lead 23-20. The Pointers would tie it up at 23 all, but Edgewood College found the last two points before they could force extra points.
- The Eagles jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the fourth frame to set the tone. Stevens Point would go on a 9-3 response to go down just a single point at 12-11, but Edgewood College replied with a 9-3 run of their own to be firmly in control at 20-14. The Eagles would lead 23-16 before Stevens Point had one last effort to extend the match, a 6-1 rally to close within 24-22, but Edgewood College closed out the set and match with a kill from Hoffmann.
- Hoffmann had 13 kills and 18 assists for a double-double in the victory. Bruehlman added on a 12-dig, 10-kill double-double of her own, while Salmon had 16 assists and 14 digs to round out the trio.
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Katie Borchert had 10 kills while Bunch added on 13 digs and eight assists.
- Falk tied her career-best with eight blocks.
- The Eagles won the hitting battle .208 to .128, and had 66 digs to the Pointers 53.
UP NEXT
Edgewood College hits the road for another crucial NACC battle Tuesday. They travel to Green Bay, Wis. to face St. Norbert. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in a matchup of top-five NACC squads.
