After a week in which the only game on the schedule was a home match against Wheaton College, the Benedictine University women's volleyball team will be very active over the next five days. The Eagles have three matches scheduled between now and Friday: the conference season opener at Concordia University Chicago on Tuesday and matchups against North Central College and Lake Forest College on Friday at the Red and Black Triangular in Naperville.
The Eagles (2-9) are coming off of a Thursday defeat against Wheaton in the season's home opener. After convincing 25-16, 25-13 victories in the game's first two sets, the Thunder rallied back to take the final three sets. Despite the loss, three different Eagles recorded double-digit kills (13 for
Beckie Whitmarsh, 11 for
Erin Wiegand, and 10 for
Keriann Groen), while five added double-digit dig totals (20 for
Abby Screnock, 19 for
Andraia Leja, 15 for
Kelcey Adams, 12 for Wiegand, and 11 for
Vanessa Possidoni). Screnock also recorded 38 assists.
Tuesday: at Concordia-Chicago (3-8), 7:00 p.m.
Northern Athletics Colligate Conference play opens for the Eagles on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m., as the Eagles will travel to nearby River Forest. At 3-8 on the season, the Cougars have lost five straight matches and dropped all four contests at the DePauw Invite in Greencastle, Indiana over the weekend. The team's three victories this season have come against Finlandia University, Mount Mary College, and Northland College, all of which were at the Northland College Tournament the first weekend in September.
After finishing tenth in the NACC a season ago with a record of 2-9, CUC was selected to place tenth in this season as well.
Jennifer Wildes has only dropped one match to the Cougars in her coaching career, as the Eagles are 8-1 against the River Forest school since 2005, with that victory coming in 2008.
Friday, Game One: at North Central (11-2), 4:00 p.m.
The opening game of the annual Red and Black Triangular looks to be a tough test for the Eagles, as North Central is off to a fast start on the season. After winning the first nine matches of the year and sweeping a trip to New York to start things off, the Cardinals now have an 11-2 record and a 2-1 record against NACC schools. The NACC victories have come against Marian University and Aurora University, but the Cardinals also fell to Aurora 3-1 on Saturday. BenU and NCC have one common opponent so far this season, as both teams defeated Knox College 3-0.
Benedictine and North Central are familiar non-conference opponents in all sports given the proximity of the two schools. Over the past two seasons, the Eagles have won all three matchups against the Cardinals. The last time NCC defeated the Eagles, however, was the last meeting between the schools in Naperville. North Central defeated the Eagles in three sets on two separate occasions that season.
Friday, Game Two: vs. Lake Forest (2-10), 6:00 p.m.
Another common non-conference foe for the Eagles, Lake Forest is off to a 2-10 start this season. However, the Foresters have yet to play a match at home, as the team is 0-4 in road games and 2-6 at neutral sites. Common opponents between Lake Forest and BenU are Coe College, Elmhurst College, Blackburn College, and Greenville College. Both schools are 1-3 against those schools, with the wins coming against Blackburn.
Benedictine and Lake Forest meet every season as a part of the Red and Black Triangular, which rotates host sites between the two schools and North Central each year. The Eagles have won the meetings with the Foresters over the last two seasons, with the last Foresters victory coming in 2011 in Naperville.
