Volleyball Picks up Three Wins at Carthage Tournament

Volleyball Picks up Three Wins at Carthage Tournament

KENOSHA, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – After dropping its opening match to 13th-ranked University of Chicago at the Carthage College Tournament on Friday, the UW-Eau Claire volleyball team went on to win three straight to finish the weekend 3-1.

Carthage Website

Eau Claire fell 3-0 in the opener to Chicago but won 3-1 over Illinois Wesleyan on Friday, and came back Saturday with wins over 20th-ranked Carthage College, 3-0, and Dominican University (Ill.), 3-1.

Against Chicago, the Blugolds fell 25-16, 25-22, 25-19. Kelly Schuh (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./Hortonville) led the match with nine kills as she hit .217 while the team hit .068.

Facing Illinois Wesleyan, Eau Claire won the first two 25-18 and 25-21 before Illinois Wesleyan won the third 25-20. But Eau Claire had a solid win in the fourth set 25-16 to win the match. Schuh again led the match in kills with 16.

The Blugolds played well against Carthage, winning 25-20, 25-23 and 25-21. The Blugolds hit .246 while Carthage hit .134. Schuh again led the Blugolds with 11 kills.

To end the tournament, the Blugolds faced Dominican and won a closely contested match. Eau Claire opened with a 28-26 win, then won the second set 27-25 before falling in the third 25-21. The Blugolds didn't have much trouble in the fourth set, however, winning 25-14. Schuh led the Blugolds with 17 kills, hitting .271.

Leading the Blugolds in set assists throughout the four matches was Jenna Smits (So.-Green Bay, Wis./Preble), who recorded 101. Lauren Sutherland (Sr.-Dayton, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) led the team in digs with a four-match total of 85.

The Blugolds had a total of 21 service aces, nine of which came against Dominican. The team also had a total of 30.5 blocks.

Eau Claire is now 7-6 on the season.

The Blugolds will play one match this week to open conference play as they face UW-Superior for Parents' Night in the McPhee Physical Education Center on Friday. Action is set to get underway at 7 p.m.

-KM-