By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - Wednesday night's match-up from the McPhee Center featured two teams ranked in the top-25, as the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team hosted the Pointers of UW-Stevens Point.
On the team's Breast Cancer Awareness Night, the No. 22-ranked Blugolds faced the No. 10-ranked Pointers to determine who would leave McPhee as the lone unbeaten team in conference play.
The opening set of the night was a thriller, marked by a few key runs. While the Blugolds had the full house crowd roaring early with a 6-2 start, the Pointers responded with a 9-1 run of their own. Eau Claire stayed resilient, though, with late strings of 7-0 and 5-1 to mount the comeback and take set one by a final of 25-23.
In set two, the momentum stayed with the blue and gold, as they capitalized on yet another late rally to separate from the Pointers on the scoreboard. The 8-1 push led to a 25-22 finish, putting UW-Eau Claire ahead a critical two sets to none. Much-improved from their .051 hitting efficiency in set one, the Blugolds hit .385 in the second.
The score in set three matched that from the opening set, completing the big sweep for the Blugolds. With the win, they improved to 3-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), which is good for the outright lead atop the standings.
With "Dig for a Cure" the theme of the night, the Blugolds' leader in digs was Talia Jaskulske (Jr.-Maplewood, MN/North St. Paul) with 21 to her name. On the attack, 13 kills from Heather Sawchuk (Jr.-Roseville, MN/Cretin-Derham Hall) led the Blugolds. Madelyn Pashibin's (So.-Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis Southwest) eight kills served as the next highest.Winners of 12 of their last 13, the Blugolds have a quick turnaround, with their next contest taking place at UW-Oshkosh on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
Follow the action for all sports this season on Blugold Game Day.
