EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's volleyball team came out strong, winning the first two sets, but UW-La Crosse came from behind to defeat the Blugolds 3-2 in the McPhee Physical Education Center today.
The Blugolds won the first two sets 25-20 and 25-11 while La Crosse won the final three 25-22, 25-19 and 15-13.
In the opening set, the Blugolds never trailed. After it was 7-5 in favor of the Blugolds, they then used a 5-0 run to get up 12-5 and never looked back.
In the second set, the teams played close early. After La Crosse led 6-5, the Blugolds went on a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead. The Eagles were never able to recover after that.
In the third set, the teams found themselves tied multiple times, the last time at 11. La Crosse was able to get up 20-15 and the Blugolds got back to within two (24-22) but that was as close as they would get.
In the fourth set, La Crosse took a 5-2 lead, and while the Blugolds tied it up at five, two 4-0 runs by La Crosse gave the Eagles a 16-10 lead. The closest the Blugolds could get after that was four points.
In the final set, the Eagles had the initial lead but the Blugolds were then able to get up 5-3. After a 5-5 tie, La Crosse used a 4-0 run to get up 9-5 and while the Eagles found themselves up 14-9, the Blugolds were able to get back into the set, scoring the next four points to make the score 14-13. But La Crosse got the last point it needed after an attack error by the Blugolds.
With four Blugolds reaching double figure kill totals, Alexis Wong (Sr.-Maple Grove, Minn.) led the team with a career-high 16. Jamie Dimka (Jr.-Wausau, Wis./East) led the match with 25 digs while Jenna Smits (Jr.-Green Bay, Wis./Preble) had a match-high 50 set assists to lead the match.
As a team, Eau Claire hit .251 with 60 kills and 18 errors while La Crosse hit .170 with 56 kills and 28 errors.
Eau Claire is now 9-10 on the season and 1-1 in WIAC play. La Crosse improves to 8-9 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Next up, the Blugolds will be at 12th-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday, Oct. 1 for a WIAC match beginning at 7 p.m.
-KAM-
