The Edgewood Crusaders will square off against the Onalaska Hilltoppers on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Edgewood sitting on four straight victories and Onalaska on three.
Edgewood proved they can win big last Tuesday (they won by three) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They came out on top in a nail-biter against McFarland, sneaking past 3-2.
Elle Siniscalchi
| 09/23/25 @ McFarland | 3 |
| 09/16/25 vs Mount Horeb | 2 |
| 09/13/25 vs Westosha Central | 1 |
| 09/13/25 vs Lakeside Lutheran | 2 |
| 09/13/25 @ Kettle Moraine Lutheran | 2 |
| + 3 more games |
Edgewood's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Elle Siniscalchi, who had 24 digs and three aces. What's more, Siniscalchi posted three assists, the most she's had over her last eight matches. Lexi Sheffield was another key player, getting 11 digs and six aces.
They weren't the only good servers: Edgewood was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 21 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least five aces in five consecutive matchups.
If Aquinas wanted to avenge their loss from the last time they played Onalaska, they should've done a better job of containing Isabella Eckstein. The Hilltoppers won by a set and slipped past the Blugolds 3-2 with plenty of help from Eckstein, who had 23 assists and 12 digs. She has been hot recently, having posted 17 or more assists the last four times she's played.
If you add up the scores from across all five sets (108-98) Onalaska actually scored fewer points, but in the end it didn't matter. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-22, 25-23, 13-25, 20-25, 15-13.
Edgewood better focus on containing Mckenzie Bauer and Kendall Carlson as the pair were huge in Onalaska's win. Bauer had 18 digs and four assists, while Carlson had six kills, four digs, four aces, and two blocks.
Edgewood's win bumped their record up to 13-4. As for Onalaska, their victory bumped their record up to 12-7.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Saturday's contest: Edgewood has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 8.8 aces per game. However, it's not like Onalaska struggles in that department as they've been averaging an even more impressive 5.9 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Edgewood came up short against Onalaska when the teams last played back in September of 2023, falling 2-0. Will the Crusaders have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other volleyball content.
