By: Emily Simonson, UWEC Sports Information
CLAREMONT, Ca. (blugolds.com) – Day two of the Pacific Coast Classic Tournament took place at Roberts Pavilion at Claremont McKenna College. The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team played two games and lost both to ranked opponents, but also found strength in certain aspects of play.
The first of the two was against the site host, No. 7 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. CMS bested UW-Eau Claire in three sets with scores of 22-25, 11-25, and 21-25. Although the Blugolds did not come away with the win, the perseverance and energy on the court was undeniable. The team held their own with a #7 ranked team and when down, was constantly chipping away at the CMS lead.
Set one against CMS was a very even matchup and a well-fought battle. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' serving in set two was strong allowing them to achieve six aces in the set which ultimately led to their victory in that set.
Eau Claire started strong in set three, up 4-2 on CMS. Middle hitter Madelyn Pashibin (Jr.- Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis Southwest) took off in set three and led the way in kills for the Blugolds with 12 kills, seven of those coming in set number three alone. Pashibin's kills came at great times in set three, as they were pivotal moments for the team. Shortly after a Pashibin kill to bring the Blugolds' deficit to just one, setter Jenna Phillips (Fr.- Oconomowoc, WI/Kettle Moraine) served up an ace to put the Blugolds up one on CMS. However, the CMS defense prevailed and came out with the victory.
The second game of the day was played against No. 8 University of Texas-Dallas. It was an exhilarating battle from the start. The Blugolds were able to come out on top with a 25-21 win in set one but weren't able to do the same in sets two through four, losing by scores of 21-25, 35-37, and 16-25.
Throughout the losing sets, the Blugolds were able to stick with the nationally ranked UT-Dallas team and were tied for large portions of each set. This was very much so the case in set three. It went to extra points and there were many long volleys on each side of the court. In what was a very back-and-forth and heart-racing set, the Blugolds came up just short after putting on a big fight, 37-35.
Jessica Coyne (Jr.- Verona, WI/Verona) was a spark the offense needed throughout the game and came out with 14 total kills in the game versus UT-Dallas. On the defensive side of things, Mackenzee Pierog (Sr.- Eau Claire, WI/North), Makenzie Bachmann (Fr.- Chaska, MN/Chaska), and Pashibin were forces to be reckoned with at the net.
Talia Jaskulske (Sr.- Maplewood, MN/North St. Paul) had 26 digs and setter Madison Surprise (Jr.- Appleton, WI/Kimberly) had 15 digs and 46 of the teams' 51 total assists.
Next up for the Blugolds is the Augsburg Invitational, beginning on Friday, Sept. 8th. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day.
