Volleyball grinds out NACC win over Edgewood

MEQUON, Wis. – Concordia University Wisconsin is young, but that doesn't matter to them because they seized the moment on Tuesday evening with a 3-2 (25-17, 23-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13) victory over Edgewood College during Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play. The Falcons responded from a 2-1 deficit to win their home opener in exciting fashion.

In all, there were 25 scoring ties and seven lead changes in the NACC opener for both teams inside the R. John Buuck Field House. During the fifth and deciding set, CUW found itself down 4-3 early before putting together a 9-1 scoring run to take control. Sophomore Karina Klotz (Hubertus, Wis.) connected with freshman Ashley Jehlicka (Salem, Wis.) for the game-winning kill to put an exclamation point on the night.

Jehlicka recorded her third career triple-double in the last seven matches, with 16 kills, 20 assists and 27 digs. Senior Hannah Griffiths (Antigo, Wis.) had a double-double with 17 kills and 18 digs, while senior Britta Duchow (Potter, Wis.) smashed 10 kills and had five blocks assists. Klotz recorded a double-double of her own with 17 assists and 11 digs.

The Falcons hit just .116 in the match, but the Eagles offensive woes were worse with a .062 attack percentage. CUW recorded 7.5 total team blocks, however, EC amassed 15 total team blocks in the match.

Jordan Winkler paced the Eagles with 21 kills and 18 digs, while Rachel Thomsen and Haley Schwenn each had 18 assists. Rachel Tesch led all players with 31 digs.

The opening frame was all CUW, as it led by as many as seven points (15-8). They held a five-point advantage, 21-17, before scoring the last four points to take an early 1-0 set advantage. A trio of Falcons had three kills each in the set.

EC (4-8, 0-1 NACC) claimed the second and third frames to take control of the match. The Eagles gutted out a competitive second set that featured 12 scoring ties and four lead changes by scoring three of the last five points. Winkler hammered home five kills in the second set for EC.

During the third set the Eagles held a one-point lead, 16-15, before scoring four-straight points to take command. CUW responded and got with a point, 20-19, but it didn't have enough offensive rhythm to win the frame.

A five-point scoring run early in the fourth frame gave the Falcons an 11-8 advantage, which they would never relinquish. A Griffiths kill and back-to-back kills by Jehlicka tied the scoreboard at two sets apiece. The Falcons hammered home 15 kills in the fourth set victory, including five by Jehlicka and three each by Duchow and Griffiths.

CUW (8-2, 1-0 NACC) jumped out in front quickly with an 8-4 lead in the fifth and final set. The lead was trimmed to a point several times before Klotz connected with Jehlicka for the victory.

CUW returns to action on Friday for a pair of home matches. They will host UW-Whitewater at 3 p.m. before playing Maranatha Baptist University at 7 p.m.