MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood College Eagles women's volleyball squad kicked off the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) postseason Tuesday. The top overall seed, they hosted the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. The white-hot Scarlet Hawks (7-19) gave the Eagles (21-10) everything they could handle, but in the end Edgewood College came out on top 3-1 (25-18, 28-26, 24-26, 25-16).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first frame set the tone for the evening. Neither team would possess more than a two-point lead until the Eagles offense and defense found their rhythm for a 5-1 rally and a 18-15 lead. Illinois Tech clawed back within one, but Jennacy Wille held serve on six unanswered points to close out the first set in Edgewood College's favor.
 
- The early phases of set two trended similarly to set one, but mistakes by the Eagles fueled a 6-1 Scarlet Hawk rally to put them behind 14-9. Edgewood College came to life in the later salvos of the set, tying the set 19 all off five unanswered points. The Eagles clawed out a 24-23 set point, but a critical kill by Illinois Tech kept the set alive. Errors would prove to be the Scarlet Hawks' downfall, with three in extra points to push Edgewood College to a 2-0 match lead.
 
- Errors coupled with Illinois Tech blocks put the Eagles behind 14-10 off the back of a 6-1 rally by the visitors. Edgewood College evened up the set with a 5-1 reply and claimed the slimmest of leads off a 5-2 rally for a 20-19 edge. The ending points of the set were dominated by the Scarlet Hawks offense, swinging for four kills and two service aces in a 6-3 rally to stay alive.
 
- Illinois Tech ran out of gas in the fourth set, with errors in conjunction with an Eagles offense in sync fueling a 9-2 stretch. Five unanswered featuring three aces in a row from Ashley Bruehlman put Edgewood College in strong 19-8 positioning. The Scarlet Hawks would claw out a couple of small rallies, but in the end it was the Eagles' set and match to win.
   
- The squads combined for 46 tied scores and 18 lead changes in the hard-fought match.
 
- Edgewood College held crucial advantages in blocks (11-to-7) and hitting percentage (.168-to-.091) in the victory.
 
- Abigail Hoffmann recorded a triple-double with 11 kills, 16 assists, and 12 digs.
 
- Bruehlman posted a strong offensive performance. She earned 15 kills with a .333 hitting percentage on 36 attacks, as well as four aces and 11 digs.
 
- Wille held serve for long stretches where long stretches of serving were rare and earned three aces.
 

 
- Abbey Falk and Katie Borchert were a formidable blocking tandem, tallying seven and six blocks respectively.
 
- Abbey Eivins shined on offense and defense with 16 assists and 13 digs
 
- Sasami Cavan ran an effective Illinois Tech offense with 30 assists and contributed 15 digs. Kelsey Starnes added in three aces and 17 digs in the defeat.
 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Borchert's six blocks were a new best for the sophomore in a single match.
 
- Wille's three aces set a new high watermark for the libero.
 
- Hoffmann's triple-double was her fifth of the season, pushing her into a tie for fifth nationally.
 
- The Eagles are 5-1 against the Scarlet Hawks and won both matchups this season.

- Edgewood College has advanced to back-to-back NACC Tournament Semifinals.
 
UP NEXT
The Eagles advanced to the NACC Tournament Semifinals with the victory. They will host the Concordia Wisconsin Falcons, the four seed, at the Todd Wehr Edgedome. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night. The Eagles won 3-1 earlier this season at the Edgedome, but the Falcons hold a 31-26 lead in the all-time series.