MADISON, Wis. – The Edgewood University Eagles women's volleyball squad earned the top seed in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) postseason for the third straight season. They advanced to the NACC Tournament Final with a five-set victory against Concordia Wisconsin and will take on the third-seeded Aurora Spartans with the NACC Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
THE BASICS
- No. 1 Edgewood University (24-6, 13-0 NACC) vs. No. 3 Aurora (22-8, 11-2 NACC)
- Madison, Wis. (Todd Wehr Edgedome)
- Saturday, November 15, Noon.
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EDGEWOOD UNIVERSITY ROSTER | EDGEWOOD UNIVERSITY SCHEDULE | EDGEWOOD UNIVERSITY STATS
AURORA ROSTER | AURORA SCHEDULE | AURORA STATS
2025 NACC WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT PAGE
HOW THEY GOT HERE
- The fifth-seeded Falcons had the Eagles on the ropes, but Edgewood University put together 7-0 and 13-2 runs late to break through a stout Concordia Wisconsin defense 3-2 (25-14, 23-25, 25-27, 25-23, 15-8).
Katie Borchert earned a 23-kill, 25-dig double-double, while
Payton Millin recorded 10 blocks.
Abbey Eivins and
Kate Gunderson both posted double-doubles, with 29 assists/11 digs and 20 assists/12 digs respectively, and
Mia Hinkamper tallied 28 digs and four aces.
- The Eagles knocked down Benedictine 3-0 (25-10, 25-21, 25-16) on route to the NACC Tournament Semifinal. Borchert posted an 11-kill, 12-dig double-double, while Eivins earned 13 assists, 10 digs, and four aces.
- Edgewood University played a loaded schedule on route to their third-straight NACC regular season title. They played five teams ranked in the November 11 edition of the AVCA Division III poll, including three in the top five. They defeated No. 20 Dubuque earlier this year at the Edgedome.
- Edgewood University played a pair of critical NACC matches late in the season to clinch their third-straight regular season title. They defeated St. Norbert 3-1 (13-25, 25-22, 25-21, 26-24) at the Edgedome on October 23, before digging deep to rally for a 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 17-25, 29-27, 15-6) victory against Aurora on November 1 to claim the crown.
- Edgewood University once again found success at the net, fifth nationally in Division III with 2.47 blocks per set as a team. They were fourth in the NACC holding opponents to .126 hitting percentage on the season. Millin paced the team with 1.18 blocks per set, good for second in the conference and 17th nationally, while Hinkamper was second in the league with 4.78 digs per set. Millin's 114 blocks led the NACC and was 16th in Division III.
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Natalie Murphy and
Marina Hosticka round out the core of Edgewood University blockers with .90 and .84 blocks per set respectively, good for fifth and sixth in the NACC.
- Borchert fuels the Edgewood University attack, pacing the squad in kills per set (3.46) which is good for third in the NACC. Her .265 hitting percentage is the best among all Eagle hitters (min. 50 attempts). She is second on the squad with 265 digs.
- Eivins and Gunderson have been an effective setter tandem all season. Eivins has a team-high 493 assists and Gunderson 404. Gunderson heads the team with 36 aces while Eivins is second with 34. They both contribute defensively as well, Eivins with 188 digs and Gunderson 166.
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Nida Zukauskaite has swung for 259 kills this season, second on the team.
- The third-seeded Spartans took down six-seeded Wisconsin Lutheran 3-1, while putting away an upstart Illinois Tech squad 3-0 to advance to the NACC Tournament Final.
- Aurora brings a balanced effort to the NACC Tournament, second in the league with a .203 hitting percentage and a .118 opposing hitting percentage. Trinity Nelson fuels the Spartan offense with a conference-best 9.73 assists per set, good for 28th in Division III.
- Katelyn Ruse excels on offense and defense, pacing Aurora with 318 kills and second on the squad with 287 digs. She also hit 33 aces.
- Katie Brisk tallied team-highs with 398 digs and 39 aces. Riley Moreno holds down the fort at the net with 73 blocks.
LAST MEETING
- The two teams met at the Edgedome back on November 1. The Eagles clinched the NACC Regular Season title and home court in the postseason with a (25-18, 21-25, 17-25, 29-27, 15-6) victory that saw them stave off multiple match points from the Spartans.
- Millin shined with eight blocks and four aces, continuing to step up at key moments as Edgewood University won the blocks and aces battles 20-to-7 and 14-to-4. Hinkamper held down the back row with 23 digs.
- Borchert excelled when the Eagles needed her most, posting 20 kills, 15 digs, seven blocks, and three aces.
- Nelson anchored the Aurora offense with 51 assists, helping four hitters earn double-digit kills.
- Izabella Kowalczyk paced the Spartans with 19 kills.
NACC TOURNAMENT HISTORY
- Edgewood University enters the postseason tournament seeking its third-straight NACC Tournament title. They claimed their third-straight regular season crown and top overall seed.
- The Eagles have made the NACC Tournament 14 times since 2007, all under head coach
Paul Schlomer, and three NCAA appearances (2011, 2023, 2024).
- Aurora and Edgewood University have met in four-straight NACC Tournaments, two of those matchups being in NACC Tournament Finals.
