CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Edgewood College women's volleyball team challenged itself with two quality non-conference opponents Friday at the Coe Invite. The Eagles ended up on the wrong end of two five-set thrillers, first to Illinois Wesleyan before closing out the night against the host, Coe.
MATCH ONE: ILLINOIS WESLEYAN 3, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 2 (26-24, 21-25, 26-28, 25-18, 12-15)
- The day started against the Titans where the Eagles attacking power stood out in the first and fourth sets. The Eagles opened with a 26-24 win in a first set that saw 13 kills and a .22 attacking percentage.
- Illinois Wesleyan (5-4) battled back in sets two and three. The Titans collecting 17 kills to even the match at a set a piece with a 25-21 victory. It was a back-and-forth affair in set three, as there were five tie scores in a set that went in favor of the Titans 28-26. Cassidy Spies was critical in the final points of set three; despite recording a kill and service ace, the Titans were able to take a 2-1 advantage in the match.
- The Eagles found their confidence in the fourth set, hitting a match best .346 to take the set 25-18 and force a fifth set. Edgewood College battled through 10 tie scores and three lead changes to take the fourth set.
- In the end, 11 kills and a .346 attack percentage from Illinois Wesleyan gave them a 15-12 win to wrap up the match.
- Spies recorded a 16 kill, 10 dig double-double in the loss.
- Abbey Falk posted nine kills and seven blocks.
- Katie Borchert added 12 kills and a .344 attack percentage.
- Jennacy Wille posted 25 digs.
MATCH TWO: COE COLLEGE 3, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 2 (25-16, 25-27, 23-25, 25-17, 15-13)
- Edgewood College (2-7) and Coe College (6-3) picked up the final match of the day that proved to be a back-and-forth battle, lasting two hours and 19 minutes.
- Set three was a highlight for Edgewood College, as they hung tough to win the set that featured 10 tie scores and seven lead changes.
- Just when the Eagles thought they could wrap up the night with a four-set victory, the Kohawks charged forward, hitting a match best .407 with 15 kills to take the fourth set 25-17.
- The Eagles battled through a tough fifth set, which the Kohawks led from the beginning. Following a 14-9 lead from Coe, Edgewood College went on to score four-straight points to make the score 14-13. Ultimately, Coe went home with the 15-13 win.
- The Kohawks did a little bit of everything on Friday night, recording 68 kills, 11 service aces, 98 digs, and 10 blocks.
- Hoffmann recorded a 17 assist, 13 kill double-double, with six digs to add.
- Spies continued to shine, posting a team-high 16 kills and adding nine digs.
- Nida Zukauskaite recorded the first double-double of her career. She collected 11 digs and 10 kills.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Falk eclipsed 400 blocks in the match against Illinois Wesleyan. She has 407 for her career and sits third on the all-time list.
- Coe holds a 11-1 lead in the all-time series, while Illinois Wesleyan's win put them ahead 4-0.
- Zukauskaite's 11 digs and 10 kills against Coe go down as career-best marks for the freshman.
UP NEXT
- Edgewood College will open their NACC slate at Alverno College on Thursday, September 19. Action from Milwaukee, Wisconsin is set for 7:00 p.m.
