LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Edgewood College Eagles traveled west Friday evening for a pair of matches. They battled with fellow avian squads in the UW-La Crosse Eagles and the Loras Duhawks in a tri-match. Edgewood College (8-4) proved their mettle, taking down the host UW-La Crosse (11-5) in a 3-1 (25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-16) battle, before rallying to take down the Duhawks (7-7) with a 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 13-25, 25-16, 15-10) finale.
MATCH ONE: EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 3, UW-LA CROSSE 1 (25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-16)
- The visitors dug their talons into the first set and refused to let go. A 15-5 bombardment after being tied at four effectively sealed the deal for Edgewood College to take the first set of the day, followed by a 5-1 stretch featuring three kills and two aces.
- The two avian squads were locked in a tussle in frame two, with neither team holding more than a three-point lead in the set. A 5-2 rally by Edgewood College in the middle of the set proved critical, putting them in the driver's seat up 17-14 and never trailing from that point. UW-La Crosse would stay on their tail, tying up the set at multiple points, but a 4-2 finisher left Edgewood College up 2-0.
- UW-La Crosse grabbed momentum early in the third set, taking advantage of an Edgewood College service error to chain together three straight kills and hold a 12-8 lead. The hosts would hold onto their lead to keep alive in the match 2-1, with Edgewood College never getting closer than two points the rest of the way.
- Edgewood College pulled away early in frame four from UW-La Crosse and never looked back. A 14-1 explosion featuring four aces, two blocks, and six kills left the visitors ahead 19-5. The margin proved to be an insurmountable obstacle as Edgewood College claimed victory one on the day.
-
Ashley Bruehlman continued to propel Edgewood College forward with a 15-kill, 11-dig, six-ace performance.
- Edgewood College hit .290 in the affair in an offensive explosion.
-
Abigail Hoffmann tallied 16 kills and 17 assists with a .556 hitting percentage.
Zoee Pond earned a .400 attack percentage and seven kills.
-
Abbey Eivins finished with 24 assists, while
Jennacy Wille tacked on 17 digs.
MATCH TWO: EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 3, LORAS 2 (25-21, 14-25, 13-25, 25-16, 15-10)
- The two squads were evenly matched early, with an Eagle 5-1 rally being erased by an 8-4 response from the Duhawks. Loras did not have an answer for a 7-2 follow up from Edgewood College, and a 5-1 run following all but clinched the first match point for the Eagles.
- Edgewood College sputtered in the next two sets as the Duhawks had the white hot hand, leading by as many as 12 points in frame two and 15 in set three to put the Eagles on the brink.
- Edgewood College mounted a furious 14-4 rally in set four with the match on the line to take a 24-14 lead. A Hoffmann kill finished off the set and forced a fifth tiebreaker set with the wind at the Eagles' backs once more.
- Five unanswered early in the fifth left Edgewood College in a prime position. Loras replied with a 4-2 run to close within two, but a 4-0 rally by the Eagles with a pair of Bruehlman service aces left the Duhawks worse off than they started. A pair of
Katie Borchert kills sealed the set and match.
- Hoffmann continued her strong offensive day. She hit .310 with 13 kills and 20 assists.
- Eivins earned 26 assists while
Abbey Falk recorded six blocks.
- Bruehlman tallied 12 kills and 12 digs, while Borchert finished with 10 kills.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Edgewood College is now 3-14 against UW-La Crosse and 5-6 against Loras all-time.
- Hoffmann broke past 1000 assists in the doubleheader. She now sits at 1026 for her career
- Edgewood College has now won four in a row.
- Eivin's 26 assists versus the Duhawks were a career-best.
- Bruehlman's six aces versus UW-La Crosse set a new high water mark for her Edgewood College career, while Gunderson's four aces against Loras tied her match best.
- Edgewood College's .290 hitting percentage against UW-La Crosse was their second-best of the season as a squad.
UP NEXT
The Eagles continued their six-match road trip Tuesday. They head south to face the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) battle in Chicago, Ill. with first serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Edgewood College holds a 3-1 advantage all-time against their conference foe.
