Elmhurst looks like top 25 material

Went to the UW Oshkosh triangular tonight, and Elmhurst dominated for the most part. The Bluejays seem to be more athletic and quicker this season. The EC defense was great, and the offense was more dynamic than in my past viewings. EC’s strength is still middle play – sophomore All-American Megan Reynolds went 28-2-49 and had 14 blocks in the two matches; sophomore Kaitlyn Wilks went 19-2-35. But the outsides played well too. EC junior libero Perrie Morgan was outstanding.

EC swept UW-Stevens Point and beat UWO in four. UWSP swept UWO in the other match. UWSP has a lot of talent, especially at the net. The Pointer blocking was solid.

In other action … • Northwestern 3, RV Saint Benedict 1. NWC senior outside Greta King had 14 kills. CSB hit .075. • Coe 3, Cornell 1. The Kohawks remain undefeated in winning their IIAC opener. Cornell, the coaches’ pick to place second in the conference, suffers its first loss of the season. Coe freshman outside Rachel Schaefer had 20 kills. Coe won the digs column, 98-69. • Dubuque 3, Edgewood 2. I had Edgewood as the favorite in the NAC while the coaches picked the Eagles second. UD was picked to finish eighth in the nine-team IIAC. UPDATE: UD senior Kristen Mortensen had 47 digs. • North Park 3, Benedictine 1. CCIW coaches chose NPU to finish last, and it was unanimous. NAC coaches had BU fourth in the NAC. • Carroll 3, Wisconsin Lutheran 2. Heading into tonight CU was winless, albeit against five quality opponents, and WLC had beaten UW Oshkosh. WLC had 41 attack errors and hit .052.

-Ricky Nelson