EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team picked up two wins on Saturday, defeating North Central (Ill.) and Elmhurst (Ill.) by scores of 3-1.

North Central Box Score | Elmhurst Box Score

The Blugolds came out firing on all cylinders against North Central in their first match of day, taking the first set with a dominating 25-9 score. Eau Claire won set two 25-17 before narrowly falling 24-26 in the third. But the Blugolds would come back strong in the fourth set to win 25-11.

Three Blugolds finished with double-digit kills, with Sarah Kuchcik (Fr.-Naperville, IL/North) leading the way with 16 while Leah Witzel (Jr.-Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) tallied 32 assists and Taylor Scalia (Jr.-Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) recorded 22 digs.

Eau Claire hit an impressive .324 for the match, including .538 in the first set. On defense, the Blugolds recorded 18 blocks, with Maren Saunders (Fr. – St. Michael, MN/St. Michael-Albertville) and Abby Volk (So.-Willmar, MN) leading the way with each recording four block assists.

Against host Elmhurst, the Blugolds tallied another 3-1 win (28-26, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19).

Once again, three Blugolds finished with 10 or more kills, this time led by Arianna Barrett's (So.-Lakeville, MN/North) 13. Scalia had another great match, recording 34 digs while Makenzie Bachmann (Jr.-Chaska, MN) also added 21.

Saunders also finished with six of the Blugolds' 16 blocks while Witzel and Abbey Pederson (So.-Canby, MN) dished out 22 and 25 assists, respectively.

Eau Claire will return to conference play next Saturday as they travel to UW-Stevens Point for a 6 p.m.  start. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day or on the 'UWEC Blugolds' app from your mobile device.