MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Blugolds.com) - The 12th-ranked UW-Eau Claire volleyball team went two-for-two during the first day of competition at the 29th annual Augsburg Invitational in Minneapolis. Eau Claire first topped the College of St. Benedict (Minn.) 3-1 then extinguished Edgewood College 3-0.

In the first match of the invitational, the Blugolds beat St. Benedict's Blazers 3-1, just as they did last weekend in the UWEC Labor Day Classic. The Blugolds came out strong, picking up the first set 25-22. The Blazers claimed the second set 24-26, but like the meeting of the teams in the Classic, the Blugolds were able to take the next two matches (25-19, 25-18) to grab the win.

Blair Murphy (Sr.-Hermantown, Minn.) led the way for the Blugolds in digs, racking up 19 on the way to the win. Elizabeth Anderson (Jr.-Rib Lake, Wis.) collected a match-high 15 kills, while Rachel Ver Voort (Sr.-Madison, Wis./Middleton) and Liz Amici (Jr.-Whitewater, Wis.) also posted strong numbers, recording 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Amanda Lessner (Sr.-Watertown, Wis.) made 49 assists during the four-set match as well.

The Blugolds ended the night with a sweep of Edgewood. Eau Claire easily nabbed the first sets 25-17, 25-14 and then managed to hold off a rallying Eagle team 25-23 for the match victory.

Leading the two teams in kills was Ver Voort, while Amy Bomgren (So.-Woodbury, Minn.) also recorded a match-high 10 digs. Emily Neave (So.-Salem, Wis./Westosha Central) tallied a leading 24 assists in addition to seven digs. The Blugolds also out-hit the Eagles .363 to .084.

The pair of wins improves the Blugolds to 5-1 on the season. The second half of the two-day Augsburg Invitational resumes tomorrow morning. The Blugolds' first match will be against Augsburg College (Minn.) at 9 a.m.