WHITTIER, CALIF. – The Edgewood College Eagles women's volleyball squad kicked off their California stay Friday evening with a pair of matchups. They faced off with the Chapman Panthers and the Whittier Poets. The Eagles (2-3) earned a hard-fought 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-11) victory against the Panthers (3-1), before the Poets earned a 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-17) sweep in the second match.
MATCH ONE: EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 3, CHAPMAN 2 (25-23, 23-25, 23-25, 26-24, 15-11)
- The two squads set the tone for the outing early in the first frame. The Eagles landed a 7-1 blow in the opening salvos of the match, but the Panthers matched it in kind with a 7-2 haymaker. A 4-1 follow-up from Chapman would give them a two-point edge late in the set, but mistakes would contribute to four-straight points for the Eagles late as they took the first frame.
- Errors early by Edgewood College would contribute to three unanswered points and an 8-4 advantage for the Panthers. A 6-2 rally in the middle of the frame fueled by the Eagles offense would even things at 17 all. The two squads would remain deadlocked until Chapman's offense took over late with a 4-1 sprint to even the match.
- The Eagles offense clicked early in frame three as they grabbed a 6-1 lead early. Much like the first set, Chapman would reply with a 7-2 blow to even the set 8-8. Three unanswered points for the Panthers pushed them ahead 15-13. Edgewood College would battle back to an 18-18 tie as the teams remained in a dead heat down the stretch, but a key service error followed by a Chapman kill would put the set in their tally.
- After a 5-2 start from the Eagles in the fourth set, the Panthers rattled off five straight points punctuated by back-to-back aces. The lead proved to be stubborn, with a late 4-1 rally pushing Chapman ahead 21-18, but Edgewood College refused to stay down. Five unanswered pushed the Eagles to a 24-22 edge, with the Panthers offense evening the set 24-24 with back-to-back points. A kill from
Kennedy Kabat and a critical mistake from Chapman would send the two squads into a tiebreaker set.
- Edgewood College jumped ahead 4-2 with help from two kills from
Payton Millin. The Eagles dug their talons into their slim edge, matching blow for blow with the Panthers down down the stretch with Edgewood College holding onto their two-point edge at 11-9. Mistakes by Chapman and the Eagles' own offense extended Edgewood College's lead to four as they took home a five-set thriller.
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Abigail Hoffmann posted her first triple-double of the season with 18 kills, 11 assists, and 10 digs. She earned a .319 hitting percentage on 47 attempts
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Abbey Eivins fueled the offense with 29 assists, while
Abbey Falk anchored the blockers with six blocks.
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Jennacy Wille posted 14 digs and
Katie Borchert 11 kills. Borchert also recorded a .276 hitting percentage on 29 swings.
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Nida Zukauskaite continued her strong play with nine digs and seven kills.
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Zoee Pond tallied four blocks.
- Brooke Leslie did a bit of everything for the Panthers. She earned 18 kills, four aces, four blocks, and 10 digs.
MATCH TWO: WHITTIER 3, EDGEWOOD COLLEGE 0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-17)
- A dead heat early swung in the Poets' favor with an 8-2 burst in the middle of frame one. Whittier continued to cruise, closing the book on the first set with a 5-1 sprint.
- The two squads exchanged blows in frame two, with a four-point string by the Eagles being answered by five in a row from Whittier. The Edgewood College offense put together four points for an 18-16 edge, but the Poets battled back to a tie as the teams wrestled over the lead. Whittier would find the wind in their sails to close the set, finishing on a 5-1 rally.
- The two teams jostled for position early. Eagle errors would contribute to a 7-1 Poet rally as Whittier took a commanding 13-6 lead. The Poets would lead by as much as 11 points down the stretch as they claimed the sweep.
- Whittier's offense controlled the match, earning a .256-to-.034 advantage in hitting percentage.
- Morgan Lin anchored the Poets attack with 16 assists, as did fellow setter Sophia Padilla with 14 assists.
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Cassidy Spies led the Eagles with seven kills.
- Hoffmann and Millin each had four blocks apiece.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- Zukauskaite's seven kills and nine digs against Chapman were both career bests.
- Hoffmann crossed 200 career blocks in the second match versus Whittier.
- The matches were the first time the Eagles played against the Panthers and Poets in program history..
UP NEXT
Edgewood College will wrap up their California stay Saturday in La Verne, Calif. They will take on Redlands and La Verne, the latter ranked no. 11 in the latest AVCA poll. First serve is scheduled for 12:30 P.M. on the day.
