NAPERVILLE, ILL. – The Edgewood College Eagles women's volleyball team continued their trek through a strong non-conference schedule Saturday. They faced off with the Calvin Knights, ranked no. 19 in the latest AVCA poll, and the North Central Cardinals. The Eagles (4-8) rallied to take down the ranked Knights (9-3) in a 3-2 (17-25, 25-20, 21-25, 29-27, 15-13) battle, before the Cardinals (8-4) claimed a 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-14, 25-14) win.
MATCH ONE: EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 3, NO. 19 CALVIN 2 (17-25, 25-20, 21-25, 29-27, 15-13)
- Calvin fired off the blocks in the first set and never looked back. They led 12-3 off the back of a strong offensive showcase as they took a 1-0 lead in the match, leading by as much as 10 points in the frame.
- The Knights' offense sputtered early in frame two and the Eagles took full advantage, eight unanswered points putting them in a commanding 11-5 position. An 8-3 rally late by Calvin would put themselves back in striking distance at 22-19, but a
Mia Hinkamper ace and a
Abigail Hoffmann kill would even the match.
- Seven straight points in the early portion of set three left Edgewood College ahead 7-2, but the Knights would carve the lead down to one with four in a row. Momentum would gradually shift into Calvin's column down the stretch. After being down 15-13, the Knights would string together a 12-6 stretch to claim back the lead in the match.
- Five kills and three blocks fueled a 10-2 barrage by the Eagles to lead 14-9 in the fourth frame. An 8-2 response from Calvin put the visitors ahead 17-16, and another 5-2 follow up had the Knights in a strong 22-19 position. A key 5-2 rally from Edgewood College with three kills, a block, and an ace left things tied at 24. The Eagles took full advantage of Calvin errors, a kill from
Cassidy Spies followed by a Hoffman kill sending the two teams into a decisive fifth set.
- The two teams exchanged three-point blows early in the fifth frame, but four points straight from Edgewood College left them ahead 8-5. A 5-1 answer from the Knights inched them ahead 10-9, before four in a row from the Eagles propelled them to the doorstep of victory at 13-10. Mistakes by Edgewood College would tie things up at 13 apiece, but Calvin would be unable to capitalize as a pair of their own errors would seal the Eagle victory.
- Hoffmann excelled in all aspects of the game. She recorded 22 assists, 13 digs, three blocks, three aces, and seven kills.
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Katie Borchert and Spies hit double-digit kills. Borchert tallied 12 as well as three blocks, while Spies swung for 10 and added in 13 digs for a double-double.
- Hinkamper impressed as the libero, tallying 16 digs and three aces on top of six assists
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Abbey Eivins earned 16 assists and
Zoee Pond nine kills.
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Abbey Falk led the team with eight blocks.
- Three Knights finished with double digit kills. Avery Ekkens led the match with 17 kills and contributed a team-high 16 digs.
- Jasmine Namminga posted a match-high nine blocks, while Aerin Baker recorded eight.
MATCH TWO: NORTH CENTRAL 3, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 1 (25-15, 23-25, 14-25, 15-25)
- After the two teams sat tied at nine apiece, the Cardinals took over. They went on a 16-6 tear and never looked back for a commanding 1-0 lead.
- A 6-1 rally left North Central ahead 13-10. The three-point edge proved to be stubborn until the waning moments of the set. Cardinals mistakes and Eagles offense helped put together a 5-0 run for Edgewood College for a 22-20 advantage. After North Central flipped the script for a 23-22 tally, two kills and an ace would even the match at one apiece for the Eagles.
- The Cardinals rolled out to an 8-3 lead and never looked back in the third set. They would lead by as much as 11 as they swung momentum firmly in their favor.
- The two squads jockeyed for position early in the fourth frame. Sitting tied at 10-10, North Central took control of the set and the match and went on a 15-5 sprint to close out the day.
- The Cardinals outhit Edgewood College .206-to-.031 in the match with a 53-to-29 advantage in kills.
- Hoffmann tallied nine kills, nine digs, and 14 assists.
- Hinkamper continued to play well with 16 digs.
- Eivins earned 10 assists.
- Maddi Barickman fueled a high-octane North Central offense with 43 assists.
- Abbi Barickman earned 17 kills, a match-high, as well as 11 digs for a double-double. Three other Cardinals tallied nine kills.
- Bailey Houlihan paced North Central with 16 digs.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Falk moved into second on the all-time record books for blocks as an Eagle. She has 415 blocks, supplanting Renee Meister (2014-17) and her 411 blocks.
- Borchert broke past 100 blocks for her career in the victory against Calvin.
- Edgewood College is now 1-1 against Calvin. The meeting was their first since the 1995 season.
- The Cardinals are 4-1 against the Eagles and have won three in a row. The two squads last met in 2011.
- The 16 digs in both matches were career bests for Hinkamper.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will return to Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) play Wednesday. They will travel up north to De Pere, Wis. to face off with the St. Norbert Green Knights. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in a series the Green Knights lead 19-9, but Edgewood College has won three in a row.
