RIVER FOREST, Ill. -The Edgewood College Eagles men's volleyball squad wrapped their 2023 season Saturday. They traveled to River Forest, Ill. to face down the Dominican Stars in another Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) battle. The Eagles (8-18, 4-8 NACC) roared to life in the first two sets, while the Stars (11-11, 7-5) bounced back to force a fifth set where Edgewood College came out ahead in a 3-2 (26-24, 25-18, 24-26, 13-25, 15-13).

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Eagles swung an early three-point lead off a 5-1 rally, but Dominican would bounce back in a big way 10-4 run to hold a 15-12 advantage. A 14-9 edge the rest of the way would tilt things to Edgewood College's favor in the waning moments of the set, including a 6-2 run to close the set.

- The second set was a tale of two halves. The Stars seemed to have momentum with a 8-2 rally to grab a 14-8 lead. The Eagles found another gear altogether, the offense and defense clicking in perfect sync to finish the set on a 17-4 tear.

- Neither team held more than a two-point edge in the third. Dominican nursed the slimmest of advantages in a two-point lead for most of the set, but a 6-2 Edgewood College rally flipped the script as they held a 21-19 lead late. After the Eagles led 24-22 however, four unanswered from the Stars forced set four.

- Dominican jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the fourth frame and kept building on their lead the entire way, eventually winning by a 25-13 margin to force a fifth set.

- Edgewood College bounced back when they needed to in the fifth frame. A 6-2 rally put them in prime positioning up 8-5, but the Stars tied things up with three unanswered. A 4-2 split left the Eagles up two, but three more from Dominican left them ahead 13-12. Back-to-back kills and a Stars error left Edgewood College victorious in the set and the match.

- Gavin Patterson and Ryder Hill-Zastrow showed up in a big way offensively with 13 kills. Will Gehrke wrapped up his first season with a strong performance, tallying a 34-assist, 12-dig double-double. Dylan Griffith concluded his Eagles career with 14 digs.

- Tanner Dahman put home 16 kills for Dominican. Owen Morrow did a little bit of everything, with 47 assists, 12 digs, and six blocks.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The victory was the first-ever time Edgewood College has defeated Dominican in men's volleyball.

- The loss snapped a two-game losing skid.

- The victory was the first time the Eagles have won in five sets in 2023.

UP NEXT
With the victory, Edgewood College concluded their 2023 season. They finished 8-18 and 4-8 in NACC play. The eight wins overall and four in conference play were both program bests as they wrapped up their third season of play.