The Benedictine University women's volleyball team has two Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference matchups on the scheduled this week. BenU will host Aurora University on Tuesday night and travel to Edgewood College on Friday night.
Benedictine (6-18, 4-3) will come into Tuesday's matchup on a three match losing streak, falling to NACC foes Concordia University Wisconsin, Marian University, and Lakeland College. Currently, the Eagles occupy sixth place in the NACC standings.
Tuesday: vs. Aurora (19-7, 5-1), 7:00 p.m.
Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference rival Aurora comes to the Dan and Ada Rice Center on Tuesday riding a lot of momentum. The Spartans have won five straight matchups, are 8-2 over the last 10 matches, and have more overall wins than any NACC team (19). The .731 winning percentage is the team's best start to a season since the NACC was formed in 2006. Statistically, Aurora leads the NACC in digs (1,739) and sophomore outside hitter Peyton McKenzie leads the NACC in hitting percentage (.324).
The Eagles have won the last three matchups against the Spartans, two of which came last season. Benedictine defeated Aurora in four sets on the road last regular season and in straight sets at home in the first round of the NACC Tournament. BenU's last loss to Aurora came in five sets back in 2011, and Head Coach
Jennifer Wildes is 6-4 all-time against Aurora.
Friday: vs. Edgewood (13-11, 4-2), 7:00 p.m.
Benedictine travels to Edgewood on Friday to oppose last season's NACC Regular Season Champions. Edgewood has won a NACC Championship in each of the last three seasons, capturing last year's Regular Season title, a share of the 2012 Regular Season Championship, and the 2011 NACC Tournament Championship. Currently, Edgewood has won six out of the last seven matches and is tied for fourth in the NACC standings.
Last season, Edgewood defeated BenU in straight sets at the Dan and Ada Rice Center. The year prior, BenU and Edgewood split two matchups, with BenU winning in five sets in the NACC Tournament Championship game. Edgewood holds a 6-5 advantage in the series since the NACC was formed in 2006.
