EAU CLAIRE, WI (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team was back for day two of the 9th annual Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament on Saturday. The Blugolds completed the weekend sweep with 3-0 wins over Lakeland University and St. Catherine University to improve to 8-3 on the year.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
After a long five set match the night before, UW-Eau Claire came out firing in their first match of the day with 37 kills and a .330 hitting percentage in three sets. Jordan Witzel (Sr. – Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) recorded six of her 13 total kills in the first set to jumpstart the Blugold offense. Five service aces in the first set kept UWEC with a lead as MacKenzie Houser (Jr. – Pleasant Plains, IL), Charlie Nelson (Jr. – Lakeville, MN/Farmington), and Bailey Leeke (Fr. – Lakeville, MN/North) combined for the five aces and finished the game with seven of the team's eight total aces. With a 23-17 lead, Jordan Witzel completed back-to-back kills for the 25-17 set win.
"We wanted to come out and control the pace from the beginning", Witzel said after the game. "When we come out fast and control our tempo, we know we give ourselves the best chance to win."
In the second, the Blugold defense forced Lakeland into 11 attacking errors and held a block party to keep the Muskies at bay. Darienne Andre (Fr. – Lakeville, MN/Rosemount) led the way with one solo block and three block assists and a seven-point run halfway through the set helped gain a lead that was never touched. Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) tallied three of her five total kills during the run pushing UWEC to the 25-13 set win.
The third and final set featured a consistent attack from Eau Claire as seven Blugolds recorded kills in the 25-22 set win and Charlie Nelson recorded 14 of her 30 total assists in the final frame. A four-point run by UWEC late in the set extended their lead to 24-19, but Lakeland had an answer with a three-point run of their own. Bailey Leeke sealed the deal with her sixth kill of the game to secure the 3-0 Blugold win.
"It has been so much fun to play at home with this team and these fans this weekend", Leeke said when talking about her first home games in a Blugold uniform. "I think the competition and love for the team makes it so much fun to get out on the court every single day".
As the Wildcats and Blugolds battled in their last match of the weekend, game two against St. Catherine University followed a similar storyline as UWEC won the first three sets. Witzel led the Blugold once again with 11 kills during the match and Hannah Flottmeyer (Sr. – Madison, WI/Middleton) was close behind with seven kills of her own.
Ava Aldag (Jr. – Neenah, WI) gave Eau Claire a 6-4 lead to start the game with three kills in the first ten points. Charlie Nelson distributed 36 in game two to feed eight different Blugolds the opportunity to attack. A balanced offensive attack from Avery Pennekamp (Fr. – McFarland, WI), Witzel, and the rest of the Blugold hitters would be too much for the Wildcats to handle in set one.
The second and third sets displayed the Blugolds putting multipoint runs together to get ahead of St. Kate's to hold their lead. Arianna Barrett collected seven of her nine total kills in the second and third frames to keep the Eau Claire attack at full force. Despite eight tie scores and seven lead changes, UWEC hit for .406 in the second and .333 in the third to complete the 3-0 win.
After the game, Hannah Flottmeyer commented on the Blugolds' tournament success during alumni weekend in McPhee. "To have family and friends in town for our first home games and celebrating alumni weekend was special. All these people who have been in our shoes before, continued to support our program, and cheered us on during the weekend gives us a boost heading into WIAC play on Wednesday".
Jordan Witzel and Charlie Nelson were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Blugolds (8-3, WIAC 1-0) will turn their attention to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play on Wednesday, September 21st as they host UW-River Falls at the McPhee Physical Education Center. First serve is scheduled for 7PM.
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