Falcons Spoil Green Knights' NACC Title Hopes in Regular Season Finale

DE PERE, Wis. – The Concordia University Wisconsin women's volleyball team secured the second seed in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament with a 3-0 win over St. Norbert College, clinching the regular-season finale with set scores of 25-21, 25-23, and 25-20.

The Falcons not only wrapped up their 11th consecutive winning season, finishing 16-10 overall and 11-2 in conference play, but also spoiled the Green Knights' bid for the NACC title.

St. Norbert's loss dropped them to 11-2 in league play, allowing Edgewood to claim the conference championship outright.

In the first set, St. Norbert led early, with CUW trailing 4-9 and 12-16. However, a kill by junior Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) helped close the gap to 16-18, and the Falcons capitalized on a series of Green Knights' errors to tie the score at 20-20.

A kill from junior Paige Stickney (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) gave CUW its first lead at 21-20. The Falcons then rattled off four straight points, including a block from Stickney and senior Anna Bohrer (Verona, Wis.), to take the set 25-21.

The second set saw a back-and-forth battle, with both teams tied at several points, including 11-11, 12-12, and 15-15.

However, the Falcons surged ahead with a 5-0 run, fueled by contributions from Noelle Smith (Davenport, Iowa), McKenna Oetzman (Reedsburg, Wis.), and an attack error from SNC.

Despite a late rally from the Green Knights, CUW held its lead and secured the set 25-23 after a block by Bohrer and Stickney.

The third set started in dramatic fashion with CUW jumping to a 7-1 lead, thanks to two service aces from Abby Proefrock and a kill from Paige Stickney.

The Falcons maintained a six-point advantage until St. Norbert mounted a 6-0 run to tie the score at 17-17.

After a timeout, the Falcons regrouped and finished strong, closing out the set 25-20 to complete the sweep. During the final stretch, multiple Green Knights' attacking errors and a key kill by Noelle Smith sealed the victory.

As a team, CUW posted a .213 hitting percentage while holding St. Norbert to just .139.

The Falcons dominated at the net with 20 block assists, compared to only six for SNC.

Offensively, Stickney, Smith, and Proefrock each tallied eight kills, while Skylar Kumprey (New Berlin, Wis.) hit an impressive .462 on seven kills. Freshman setter McKenna Oetzman dished out 14 assists and recorded four service aces, while sophomore Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) added 18 assists.

Defensively, Smith led the team with six block assists, and Stickney added four block assists and a solo block. Junior Brianna Lundt (Brandon, Wis.) led the flock with 22 digs.

With the win, the Falcons now shift their focus to the NACC Tournament, where they will host seventh-seeded Illinois Tech in the quarterfinals on November 12. Concordia defeated IIT 3-0 earlier in the season on October 5.