MEQUON, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team was in a battle between two of the top teams in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference on Thursday night. Concordia and Benedictine came into the match at 7-1 at the top of the NACC standings. The Falcons picked up a 25-20, 17-25, 27-25, 25-19 victory to improve to 13-9 on the year and 8-1 in the conference.
The Falcons held a slight lead for the majority of the first set and pushed the lead to 12-7 with a kill from junior Noelle Smith (Davenport, Iowa). The Eagles trimmed the Concordia lead to 13-11, 14-12 and 15-13, but could not get any closer. A kill from junior Paige Stickney (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) gave the Falcons a 23-17 lead and an attacking error gave the Falcons the first set at 25-20.
The Eagles won the first four points of the second set on Thursday. The Falcons quickly erased the deficit and tied the set at six with an attack off the arm of Paige Stickney. The Blue and White tied the set at eight and 10 before Benedictine broke away.
Benedictine carried that momentum into the third set and quickly took an early 7-2 lead. The Falcons did not fold and clawed back to tie the set at 13 with an attacking error. A kill from Paige Stickney secured the first lead of the set at 15-14. Benedictine immediately fought back and carried a 19-17 lead. The pendulum quickly swung back in the Falcons' favor and forced the set point at 24-22. Nothing came easy on Thursday and Benedictine fought off two set points and led 25-24 with a service ace. After a CUW timeout, the Falcons won the next three points with two blocks from Paige Stickney and senior Anna Bohrer (Verona, Wis.) to end the set at 27-25.
Things were trending in the right direction to start off the fourth set when the serve of sophomore Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) elevated the Concordia lead to 9-4. But Benedictine bounced back with a run of its own to take a 13-12 lead. With the set tied at 14, junior Mickenzi Benter (De Pere, Wis.) gave the Falcons the lead for good with a cross-court kill that cooked the Eagles all evening. Benedictine shaved the CUW lead to 20-19 before the serve of junior Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) closed the door with a 5-0 run.
The Falcons' attack was once again balanced with seven Birds earning a kill. Paige Stickney and Abby Proefrock led the match with 11 kills. Finishing right behind was the dynamic duo of Mickenzi Benter and Noelle Smith with 10, while sophomore Skylar Kumprey (New Berlin, Wis.) had nine in the victory.
Freshman McKenna Oetzman (Reedsburg, Wis.) fed the Falcons attack with 30 assists.
The Concordia back row was spectacular again on Thursday with 96 digs. McKenna Oetzman shined with a double-double performance with 22 digs. Junior Brianna Lundt (Brandon, Wis.) brought in 20 digs. In total, every Falcon that played had a dig with senior Emma Essex (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) adding 18 and Abby Proefrock with a double-double outing of 11 kills and 17 digs.
The CUW block party thrived on Thursday with 10 blocks against Benedictine. Paige Stickney was sensational with six blocks while being lethal on the offensive end with a 0.450 hitting percentage. Noelle Smith and Abby Proefrock both had three blocks each.
The Falcons have now won seven-straight matches and are unbeaten in October.
Benedictine now drops out of first place that now consists of Concordia Wisconsin, Aurora, Edgewood and St. Norbert.
CUW will honor the senior class of Ellie Griffiths (Berrien Springs, Mich.), Emma Essex and Anna Bohrer on Saturday against Dominican.
