EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Hosting the Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament this weekend, which highlighted 11 teams from Minnesota and Wisconsin, the UW-Eau Claire volleyball team went 2-2, winning once Friday and once Saturday in the McPhee Physical Education Center.
The Blugolds played against St. Scholastica (Minn.) and St. Thomas (Minn.) on Friday, posting a 3-1 win over the Saints while falling 3-0 to third-ranked St. Thomas. On Saturday, the Blugolds faced Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) and Northwestern (Minn.), taking a 3-2 victory over the Gusties while falling 3-2 against Northwestern.
Against St. Scholastica, the Blugolds jumped out to a 2-0 lead with scores of 25-17 and 25-20 but the Saints won the next one 27-25. Eau Claire took the victory by winning the fourth set 25-16. As a team, the Blugolds hit .309, the third highest mark this season, with 67 kills and 17 errors in 162 attempts.
Facing St. Thomas, the Blugolds struggled to get much offense going and fell 25-17, 25-16, 25-19.
But Eau Claire bounced back Saturday and won a close match in the morning against Gustavus. The teams split 25-21 wins to open the match while Eau Claire won 25-18 in the third set. The Gusties won the fourth 26-24 and the Blugolds controlled the fifth, winning 15-8.
Eau Claire then closed the tournament with another close match. After winning the first two sets 25-13 and 25-18, the Blugolds fell in the next two 25-23, 25-23. In the final set, Northwestern had the momentum and won 15-11. The Blugolds finished the match with a season-high 70 kills while Kelly Schuh (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./Hortonville) recorded 66 total attacks, tied for the third highest total in a single match in school history.
Lauren Sutherland (Sr.-Dayton, Minn./Meadow Creek Christian) had 79 digs over the four-match span to lead the Blugolds while Schuh led the team with 63 kills while also contributing 53 digs. Maggie Holcombe (Fr.-Shakopee, Minn.) led the Blugold setters with 100 assists.
After this weekend's action, Sutherland now has 1,586 career digs, third on the Blugolds' all-time list, and Schuh went past 1,000 career kills in the match against Northwestern, bringing her to 1,007. She is eighth in school history with 2,946 career total attacks.
The Blugolds are now 13-13 on the season.
They will be back in action Wednesday when they travel to Menomonie to face UW-Stout. The match will get underway at 7 p.m.
-MW-
