By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information
MENOMONIE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Following last weekend's "War on I-94" on the gridiron, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and University of Wisconsin-Stout took to the volleyball court Wednesday night. Similar to Saturday's result, this match ended with Stout victorious, and the Blue Devils did so by winning a thrilling five-set contest.
UW-Eau Claire jumped out to an early lead in the match, taking the first set by a score of 25-22. However, Stout picked up the next two sets, both tightly contested at 25-22 and 25-23. The Blugolds stayed alive with a 25-17 fourth set win, extending the match to set number five. Continuing the theme of nail-biting action, UW-Stout edged out a 15-12 final frame to upset the No. 25-ranked Blugolds.
Eau Claire found its stride in that fourth set, hitting .297, but in each of the other sets a sub-.200 attacking percentage allowed Stout to stay in the match. The Blugolds accounted for 61 total kills and 31 errors on 181 attacks in the thriller.
Heather Sawchuk (Jr.-Roseville, MN/Cretin-Derham Hall) produced a double-double with a team-best 21 kills alongside 15 digs. Katrina Raskie (Sr.-Weston, WI/D.C. Everest) added 15 kills, while Mackenzee Pierog (Jr.-Eau Claire, WI/North) had 10 put-aways. Leading in assists was Madison Surprise (So.-Appleton, WI/Kimberly) with 49, and Talia Jaskulskie (Jr.-Maplewood, MN/North Saint Paul) topped the dig column with 21.
The loss dropped the Blugolds to 20-7 overall and 3-2 in the conference. On deck is the team's farthest road trip on the season, as they travel to St. Louis, Missouri this weekend for the Washington University Tournament.
Matches against Millikin (Friday at 4:00 p.m.), Dubuque (Saturday at 9:30 a.m.), and Bowdoin (Saturday at 1:30 p.m.) highlight the trip to the "Show-Me State."
Follow the action for all sports this season on Blugold Game Day.
