WAUKESHA, Wis. - Momentum.
The ability to sustain it at crunch time can often determine the final outcome of a close, hard-fought showdown between two evenly matched teams.
That proved to be the difference as the Carroll University women's volleyball team lost to Edgewood College 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 16-25, 15-10 in a hard-fought five-set, nonconference dual at Van Male Field House on Tuesday night.
It was the sixth five-set loss of the season for Carroll, which dropped to 10-16 overall.
Trailing 12-9 in the pressure-packed final set, the Pioneers struggled to execute down the stretch, committed two critical errors and yielded a decisive 3-1 run.
Senior outside hitter Dana Voltolina (St. Charles, Ill.) contributed a team-high 15 kills for the Pioneers, who were competing in their eighth, five-set match of the year. 
Sydney Wilkins, a 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter from Portage, Ind., followed with 10 kills, 17 digs and four blocks.
"Each match has been like a rollercoaster," said Wilkins, who currently has 164 kills and 198 digs on the season. "Sometimes we've been able to play at a consistent level, maintain the intensity and everything has clicked. At other times, we've struggled to find that consistency, battled back in a lot of matches and just fallen a little short at the end. We've had a tendency to start slow in the fifth set and tonight that became the difference."
Wilkins, one of six sophomores on the roster this season, responded with a key kill to spark an energized comeback in the fourth set for the Pioneers - delivering a powerful, right-handed cross-court spike to regain a 12-11 lead and ignite an explosive 11-1 run.
"Having been through a lot of five-set matches this season, the experience should only help in our progression," Wilkins added. "Since the start of the season, we've continued to work at maintaining the intensity in each match, carrying it over into the next set and finishing. Being such a young team, we're still learning to play under pressure so the more we're put in that situation, the better we should be able to handle it in the future."
Sophomore outside hitter Kylie Mueller (Fox Lake, Ill.) had eight kills and two blocks for Carroll, which generated 46 kills, six service aces, seven blocks, 43 assists and 62 digs in the marathon battle. Junior middle blocker Karley Wolf  (Roselle, Ill.) had five kills.
Freshman middle blocker Rachel Noonan (Crystal Lake, Ill.) collected a team-best six blocks with junior defense specialist Bridget Hujik (Eau Claire, Wis.) and freshman outside hitter Sam Penzkowski (Racine, Wis.) each registering two aces.
Sophomore libero Cassidy Mrotek (Manitowoc, Wis.) had 20 digs and sophomore setter Emma Przeslicke (Evergreen Park, Ill.) added a meet-high 35 assists for the Pioneers, who captured the first set and prolonged the match by claiming an energized victory in the fourth set.
"We're getting better at adapting to the situation and finding ways to score but just couldn't carry it over into the fifth set," Carroll head coach Becca Saal said. "With momentum being such a big factor down the stretch, we just need to focus on making the most of every point, do our jobs and work hard to bring it home at the end.
"Even though we've been on the losing end of a lot of five-set matches this season, I'm proud of how we have played with confidence and fought back each time. From that standpoint, it has shown our determination and the progress we've made throughout the year."
Senior outside hitter Savannah Koester and junior middle hitter Tori Wiskow each had 11 kills to lead Edgewood, which claimed its third, five-set victory in its last four matches. Freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Doherty had 10 kills for the Eagles, who improved to 12-12 overall.