STEVENS POINT, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – After earning a share of the conference championship, the UW-Eau Claire women's volleyball team claimed third place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament by defeating UW-Platteville 3-2 this afternoon.

The Blugolds faced Platteville in the tournament's championship match last season. Though the Pioneers bested the Blugolds then, Eau Claire earned the win this season.

Platteville jumped out to a one set lead with a 25-19 first set, but the Blugolds answered back with wins in the next two sets, including a dominating 25-13 third set. Eau Claire dropped the fourth set, however, forcing the decisive fifth set. Though it was close, the Blugolds held on and took down Platteville 15-13 to win the consolation match.

Eau Claire paced Platteville in many of the stat categories.

Lauren Sutherland (So.-Dayton, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) racked up 20 digs on the day, the highest total of both teams. Both Laura Slinger (Sr.-Faribault, Minn./Bethlehem Academy)  and Liz Amici (Sr.-Whitewater, Wis.) tallied 18 kills, a match-high figure. In set assists, Emily Neave (Jr.-Salem, Wis./Westosha Central) recorded 51 of the Blugolds' 56.

The Blugolds improve to 22-12 while Platteville ends at 21-16 overall.

NCAA Regionals will take place next weekend, starting with matches on Friday, Nov. 11. The Blugolds will now wait to see if they are selected for regionals. The announcement will be made Monday beginning at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com.

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