EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The UW-Eau Claire women's volleyball team started the day with the loss, then bounced back to finish with a victory, ending its own Fall Classic with a 3-1 record in the McPhee Physical Education Center.
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In the opener against No. 21-ranked Millikin University (Ill.), the Blugolds fell 3-1 (25-22, 22-25, 25-23, 25-15) but then took down the College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) to end the day.
Facing Millikin, Eau Claire led just twice in the opening set but kept it close the entire way. The Blugolds trailed by just one point late but Millikin won after outscoring the Blugolds 3-1 to end the set. In the second set, the Blugolds came from behind and tied it up at 14 and stayed ahead the rest of the way. It was again close in the third set and while Millikin got up 24-20, the Blugolds nearly came back, scoring three in a row but Millikin earned the last point to take the win. The Blugolds had a harder time in the fourth set as Millikin led nearly the entire way and used a number of runs throughout the set to pull away.
Millikin outhit the Blugolds .266-.173 with 62 kills and 21 errors to the Blugolds' 42 kills and 19 errors.
Alexis Wong (Sr.-Maple Grove, Minn.) led the Blugolds with 11 kills while Jamie Dimka (Jr.-Wausau, Wis./East) had a team-high 17 digs and Jenna Smits (Jr.-Green bay, Wis./Preble) finished with 35 set assists.
Against St. Scholastica, the Blugolds never trailed in the opening set on their way to the win but had to come from behind in the second set. Down, 15-10, Eau Claire outscored the Saints 10-3 to take a 20-18 lead and never trailed again. In the third set, the Blugolds got out to a 13-7 lead but St. Scholastica closed the gap and got back to within one (13-12). Eau Claire then outscored the Saints 12-5 the rest of the way to claim the victory.
The Blugolds outhit St. Scholastica .207-.117 with 39 kills and 15 errors to 37 and 22, respectively, for the Saints.
Katrina Raskie (So.-Weston, Wis./D.C. Everest), who was named to the All-Tournament Team, led the Blugolds with 10 kills. Dimka had a team-best 13 digs and Smits led the match with 33 set assists.
Eau Claire is now 14-14 overall.
The Blugolds will be back in conference action next week, playing at UW-River Falls on Wednesday. The match is set for 7 p.m.
-KAM-
