MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood College Eagles women's volleyball squad returned home to the Todd Wehr Edgedome Saturday. They hosted the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) showdown, before battling with the Carroll Pios in a nonconference affair. The Eagles (13-5, 6-0 NACC) emerged triumphant against the Falcons (10-8, 5-1) in a 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 27-29, 25-23) victory, but struggled against a strong showing from the Pios (10-11), falling in 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 25-11) fashion.
MATCH ONE: EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 3, CONCORDIA WISCONSIN 1 (25-15, 25-21, 27-29, 25-23)
- The Eagles got the jump on their avian visitors with a 9-4 advantage. A 5-1 stretch pushed their lead to 14-7. The Falcons never got close to Edgewood College in the set, as an 8-4 string of points put the Eagles ahead 1-0 in the match.
- A 7-1 lead in set two kept momentum in Edgewood College's court, but Concordia Wisconsin found their opening late in the set with five unanswered points from all facets of the game to close within 18-15. A 3-0 reply from the Eagles pushed their advantage to 24-18, and they finished the set with a kill from
Abbey Falk to cut down a 3-0 Falcon run.
- The two teams were in close competition to kick off the third frame. Edgewood College found the first real opening with an 8-3 rally for a 17-11 lead as they looked for a sweep. A 7-3 sprint from the Falcons cut the advantage to 20-18, but three unanswered from the Eagles put them on the precipice of a sweep. Concordia Wisconsin found their extra gear at the perfect moment, flipping the script with a 7-1 burst fueled by six kills and an ace for a 25-24 advantage. The two teams traded a few more points until the Falcons found back-to-back points to keep their hopes alive.
- After trading 4-0 and 6-1 runs in the opening salvos of set four, the two squads kept close to one another as they jockeyed for position. Concordia Wisconsin found the first opening as a 6-2 rally put themselves up 20-17. A 6-1 answer fueled by four blocks gave Edgewood College a golden 23-21 opportunity, but back-to-back Falcons points tied the match up. A service error from the visitors followed by a kill from
Ashley Bruehlman would put the battle of two top NACC teams in the Eagles' column.
- Falk excelled as a blocker with nine blocks while also posting 10 kills. Edgewood College finished with 13 blocks as a team, holding a critical 13-to-7 advantage in the category.
Katie Borchert blocked six swings as well as swung for eight kills.
- Bruehlman tallied 14 kills and 18 digs for a double-double, as well as three aces.
- Hoffmann finished with 25 assists, while
Abbey Eivins complimented her with 15.
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Jennacy Wille anchored the defense with 22 digs.
- The Eagles had a .184 to .100 advantage in hitting percentage over Concordia Wisconsin.
- Maycee Karpfinger impressed for the Falcons with 16 kills, three aces, and four blocks.
- Mickenzi Benter tallied 37 assists while Abby Proefrock recorded 25 digs.
MATCH TWO: CARROLL 3, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE (25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 25-11)
- The Pios started with a three-point edge that stubbornly held through most of the first set. While a 5-0 Eagles sprint left things at 12-10 for the hosts, Carroll answered with an 8-2 run to put Edgewood College behind the eight ball again. The Eagles would close within 23-21, but the Pios put things away with back-to-back points of their own.
- A 4-0 rally would help erase yet another early deficit for Edgewood College as the two teams found themselves locked in a bitterly close set. The Eagles would manage the first real breakthrough of the set in the waning moments, evening the match on a 7-3 run.
- Three unanswered early would put Edgewood College ahead of Carroll in the third as the visitors now found themselves behind through most of the frame. Once more neither team found a true chance at a significant lead until late as the Pios put together a 7-1 stretch in all facets of the game to hold a 22-17 lead. A 6-2 reply from the Eagles cut the advantage down to 24-23, but a clutch kill from Carroll would put the match at 2-1 in their favor.
- A 7-1 Pios start to set four set the tone for the final set of the afternoon. Edgewood College had no answer in a set they hit -.143 in as the visitors capped off their impressive afternoon with a 25-11 set.
- Carroll's offense outpaced the Eagles 50-to-37 in kills and .244-to-.086 in hitting percentage, while they held advantages in every major statistical category besides aces.
- Rebeash Andrae finished with 10 blocks for the Pios, while Katie Jensen tallied 11 kills and eight blocks.
- Peton Frost swung for 15 kills to lead both teams and Payton Deples excelled as the setter with 45 assists.
- Three from Carroll finished with double-digit digs. Maggie McGough led both squads with 21.
- Falk continued her strong afternoon with nine kills and six blocks.
- Eivins recorded an 18-assist, 10-dig double-double.
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Kate Gunderson shined with five aces in the losing effort, while Wille continued to perform as the libero with 18 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Falk broke past 300 blocks in the match against Carroll. She has 304 for her career and sits seventh on the all-time list. Her nine blocks against Concordia Wisconsin also tied her single match best.
- Falk has posted 1.10 blocks per set on the season, comfortably the NACC leader in the category.
- Wille has tallied 4.32 digs per set, good for sixth in the NACC.
- Gunderson's five aces against the Pios were a personal best, as was Borchert's six blocks versus the Falcons.
- Hoffmann's 25 assists against Concordia Wisconsin tied her single match best.
Kennedy Kabat's pair of aces against the Falcons and pair of blocks versus the Pios were new benchmarks in her career.
- Concordia Wisconsin holds a 31-26 lead in the all-time series, while Carroll's victory in the second match put them ahead 14-13.
- The loss against the Pios snapped a nine-match winning streak for the Eagles.
UP NEXT
The NACC showdowns continue at the Todd Wehr Edgedome Thursday evening. Edgewood College hosts the Aurora Spartans in another battle between undefeated NACC squads. The Spartans hold a 13-7 lead in the all-time series and won both meetings in the 2022 season.
