EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – After day one at their home tournament, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team finished unbeaten.

In game one of their Nike/Eastbay Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament, the Blugolds were victorious over Concordia-Moorhead, 3-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-10, 25-19). After taking set one, Eau Claire narrowly dropped set two despite a late push. Set three was all Blugolds however, led by a frenzy of aces by Madison Surprise (Fr.-Appleton, Wis./Kimberly). A hard fought fourth set finished off the match as the Blugolds topped the Cobbers for the second time this season.

"I was just trying to have confidence with my serving, knowing that was my only job on the court tonight," said Surprise. "I think everyone just goes out there and knows that we're in it together, and we just bring positive energy because we know that's when we play our best."

Katrina Raskie (Jr.-Weston, Wis./D.C. Everest) led the Blugold attack with ten kills, followed by Amber Karn (Fr.-Middleton, Wis./Middleton) with six. 

Match two featured the Blugolds against the University of Minnesota-Morris, another team Eau Claire saw for the second time this season. In a much more lopsided affair than before, the highflying Blugolds swept the Cougars in a clean three sets (25-19, 25-19, 25-18). This marks the fourth time this season they have held an opponent under 20 points for the entirety of the match.

The two non-conference wins give Eau Claire a 16-5 record outside the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), and an impressive 18-7 overall. They have won eight of their last nine games, only three of those being conference games.

"We really try not to focus on momentum," said head coach Kim Wudi. "We talk about starting over every day; every point is 1-0."

She also noted that the team focuses mainly on themselves rather than relying on scouting reports. Although the team does have scouts for each team they face, many times coach Wudi opts to not focus that information and rather on playing each point as a team.

Moving into the final day of the tournament, the Blugolds will take on Saint Benedict College at noon, followed by the University of Northwestern-St. Paul at 4 p.m.