By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - Wednesday night's "War on I-94" between the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team and UW-Stout ended in three sets with the Blugolds coming out on top. With the sweep, Eau Claire locked themselves in as a top-three seed for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament that begins next week and a guarantee to host at least one more match at the McPhee Center this season.
As they did against Bates College last weekend, the Blugolds hit an impressive .301 on the night. They excelled in the opening two sets, hitting at least .375 in each, and won 25-18 and 25-12. Eau Claire needed a strong comeback to seal the deal in set three, however.
Late in the third set, Stout pressed to a 20-17 lead. From there, Eau Claire went on an 8-3 run to pick up the crucial win in the WIAC standings.
On what was deemed "Dig for a Cure" Night, two Blugolds picked up double-digit digs. Talia Jaskulske (Sr.-Maplewood, MN/North St. Paul) finished with 12, and Taylor Scalia (Fr.-Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) tallied ten.
Those passes helped lead to 32 set assists on the night for Madison Surprise (Jr.-Appleton, WI/Kimberly).
Finishing off the assists were team leaders in kills, Madelyn Pashibin (Jr.-Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis Southwest) with a match-best 16 and Jessica Coyne (Jr.-Verona, WI) with 13 putaways.
The conclusion to the regular season for Eau Claire volleyball takes place this weekend. First, they travel to UW-Whitewater on Friday with a top-two seed and first round bye on the line for the WIAC tournament. Then, they finish up with two non-conference matches at the Benedictine Tournament, including a battle with the top-ranked team in the country, Wittenberg.
Follow the action all season long on Blugold Game Day.
