MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's volleyball team opened the Augsburg College Invitational with two 3-0 victories, beating Bethany Lutheran College (Minn.) and Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) today.
Box Score | Box Score | Coach Wudi Interview
The Blugolds had little trouble in the first match, beating Bethany Lutheran 25-18, 25-17 and 25-11. Eau Claire trailed early in all three sets but eventually took control each time. As a team, the Blugolds hit .222 while Bethany Lutheran finished with a .000 hitting percentage.
Eau Claire finished the match with 37 kills, 12 more than the Vikings. Katrina Raskie (So.-Weston, Wis./D.C. Everest) and Kelly Riesgraf (Jr.-Chaska, Minn.) had seven kills each to lead the match. Jamie Dimka (Jr.-Wausau, Wis./East) tied for a match high with nine kills while Jenna Smits (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Preble) had a match-best 19 set assists.
"I'm really pleased with how we improved our performance today," Head Coach Kim Wudi said. "We're definitely making progress as a team. Execution was outstanding in match two."
In the second match, the Blugolds committed just 10 errors, improving seven over the first match. They hit .240 and recorded 38 kills while winning against Gustavus 25-21, 25-13 and 25-17.
After a close opening set, the Blugolds came out strong in the second set. With the score 4-4, Eau Claire outscored the Gusties 6-2 and while Gustavus got back to within one (10-9), the Blugolds then went on to outscore Gustavus 15-4 the rest of the way to win by 12.
Megan Tracy (Sr.-New Hope, Minn./Robbinsdale Cooper) led the match with 11 kills while Raskie contributed 10 along with achieving a match-best 17 digs. Smits again led with 28 set assists.
Eau Claire recorded 14 service aces for the day, eight against Bethany Lutheran and six facing Gustavus. Talia Jaskulske (Fr.-Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul) led the Blugolds with a total of five.
The Blugolds are now 3-3 on the season.
Saturday the Blugolds will be back in action, facing two ranked opponents. They will open the day at 2 p.m. against ninth-ranked St. Thomas (Minn.) and will follow with a contest against 22nd-ranked Augsburg College (Minn.), a team the Blugolds beat 3-0 last weekend.
-KAM-