Falcons Edge Eagles in Home Opener

MEQUON, Wis. – The CUW faithful went home happy after a 3-1 victory in the home opener for the Falcons against the Eagles of Edgewood. The 25-23, 25-20, 25-25, 25-23 victory sends CUW to 5-3 on the year and opens NACC play with a victory.

After a slow start to the first set, the Falcons rallied back from a 13-16 deficit to tie the set at 16. With the set tied at 20, a kill from freshman Mickenzi Benter (Appleton, Wis.) gave the Falcons a lead they would not give up. A bad set gave the Falcons the first set at 25-23.

The Falcons jumped on Edgewood early in the second set, but the Eagles fought back and tied the set at 11. The serve of senior Jenna Chaussee (Chilton, Wis.) pushed the lead up to 15-11, where she capped off the run with a kill. With the set tied at 20, the serve of Chaussee helped get the Eagles out of system and the Falcons won the kick five points to take the set.

The Eagles had their backs to the wall in the third set and took control of the set halfway through. The Falcons tied the set at 17, 18 and 21, but the Eagles closed the set on a 4-1 run to take a point.

The fourth set turned out to be a seesaw with the Falcons taking an early lead, only to have the storm back and push the lead to four points on four different occasions and held a 17-13 lead. The Blue and White tied the set at 21 with a kill from sophomore Lauren Shroba (Bolingbrook, Ill.). With the set tied at 23, the Eagles had two attacking errors to end the match. Senior Gabriella Kaebisch (Paddock Lake, Wis.) came up clutch for the Falcons in the fourth set with five kills.

Three Falcons finished with 10 kills in the victory in Lauren Shroba, senior Sophia Collins (Lake Mills, Wis.) and junior Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.).

Senior Sierra Lee (Kenosha, Wis.) is only five assists away from 1000 career assists after she fed the CUW attack with a match-high 26 assists. Senior Erika Natzke (Morton Grove, Ill.) ended with 20. Lee finished with another double-double performance with 14 digs.

Jenna Chaussee led the Falcons with 17 digs and two service aces.

Maycee Karpfinger frustrated the Edgewood attack with four blacks.

The Falcons are back in action on Friday at Whitewater, where they play North Central (Ill.).