EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – While the UW-Eau Claire women's volleyball team started off the match slow against 15th-ranked Viterbo University, the Blugolds fought hard in the third set but were unable to overcome a two-set deficit as they fell to the V-Hawks 3-0 in the McPhee Physical Education Center tonight.
The Blugolds completed the first set with 11 kills, hitting .119. The V-Hawks had 16 kills while hitting .351, which helped them to a 25-15 victory.
In the second set, the Blugolds improved their total of 12 kills while Viterbo matched its first set total of 16. Again the V-Hawks came out on top with a 25-19 victory.
But in the third set, the Blugolds didn't go quietly and fought hard until the end. Despite the effort, Viterbo pulled off the 27-25 win to take the match. Eau Claire had its best hitting performance of the night in the third set (15-for-35) but committed nine attack errors to just five for Viterbo.
The V-Hakws ended the night with 50 kills while Eau Claire had 38, and committed just 12 attack errors to 20 for the Blugolds.
Kelly Schuh (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./Hortonville) led the match with 14 kills as she hit .257. Lauren Sutherland (Dayton, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) had a team-high 19 digs while Schuh added 11. Jenna Smits (So.-Green Bay, Wis./Preble) tied for a match-high with 24 set assists.
Eau Claire is now 2-3 on the season while Viterbo improves to 7-2.
Next up, the Blugolds will compete at the two-day Augsburg College Invitational in Minneapolis, Minn. They will open the invite facing No. 1-ranked University of St. Thomas (Minn.) at 4 p.m. Friday.
-KM-
