Year in Review: Women's Volleyball

The Edgewood College Eagles women's volleyball squad put together a successful 2022 campaign. They finished 20-10, their best finish since the 2015 season. Their 11-2 record in conference play was their high watermark since 2015 as well. They defeated multiple ranked squads, including eventual Elite 8 finisher Transylvania and UW-Stevens Point. At one point in the season the Eagles were white hot, having won 14 of 16 matches.

Edgewood College finished third in NACC play with an 11-2 mark, only dropping tilts to the two teams ahead of them in the standings. They hosted Benedictine in the first round of the NACC Tournament, their first home tournament tilt since the 2017 season. An impressive sweep propelled them to the semifinals, where they fell to eventual tournament winner Aurora.

The Eagles tallied several well-deserved postseason accolades. Paul Schlomer and the coaching staff earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors from the NACC, while Abigail Hoffmann was named All-NACC First Team. Lea Bunch and Abbey Falk were both recognized with All-NACC Second Team appearances. Hoffmann added more awards to her trophy case, earning AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region and Academic All-District Team distinctions. Bunch and Falk were also named to the Academic All-District Team. Bunch earned NACC Defensive Player of the Week honors for September 20 and October 4, while Falk grabbed the same distinction on October 11. Hoffmann rounded out the weekly accolades with an Offensive Player of the Week honor on October 25.

The women's volleyball squad excelled in the classroom as well. Grace Antlfinger, Kaitie Borchert, Ashley Bruehlman, Bunch, Hannah Clark, Raegan Doherty, Falk, Kate Gunderson, Corrin Harrington, Hoffmann, Delaney Horkan, Abby Maier, Taylor Salmon, Hannah Siebert, and Kelsee Weis all were named NACC Scholar-Athletes.

Block Party

It was a block party to remember on October 8. In a road tilt against the Illinois Tech Scarlet Hawks, Falk needed just three sets to break the single-match solo blocks record with seven. Her eight total blocks tied her career best mark and, at the time, was second at the Division III level in a three-set match for the 2022 season. Edgewood College's 10 solo blocks as a team was third all-time on the single match record books for the school.

Tournament Time

Edgewood College's first NACC Tournament appearance since 2017 came against a familiar foe in the Benedictine Eagles. The two squads had met earlier in 2022 at the Todd Wehr Edgedome in a four set thriller, with Edgewood College avoiding a fifth set with a late 5-0 run to seal the 3-1 victory.

Edgewood College was a very different team as the two met again at the Edgedome in the NACC Tournament.

Edgewood College, the three seed, hosted Benedictine, the sixth seed, at the Edgedome on November 1. The three seed took off like a shot, leading 16-3 in the first set as they put together one of their strongest performances of the season and never looked back in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-9, 25-12) affair. They outhit Benedictine .376 to .012 and had a 42-to-17 edge in kills. Hoffmann put together one of her best collegiate outings with a 15-kill, five-ace, 10-assist stat line. Her .636 hitting percentage on 22 swings is third on the single match record books for Edgewood College.