STEVENS POINT, WI (blugolds.com) – The No. 13 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Blugold volleyball team returned to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) on Friday with a road match against No. 15 UW-Stevens Point. Both squads fought hard on both sides of the ball, but UW-Eau Claire ultimately fell 3-1 to the Pointers for their fifth loss on the year.
With 33 tie scores and 16 lead changes through four sets of play, UWEC and UWSP battled each point to gain WIAC positioning as the regular season winds down. The Pointers took an early 1-0 lead after a 4-0 run to end the opening set.
The Blugolds bounced back in the second with a team hitting percentage of 0.441. Avery Pennekamp (Fr. – McFarland, WI) led the Eau Claire offense all night with 23 total kills, including 8 of them in the second frame. A 7-3 run towards the end of the set was capped off with Jordan Witzel's (Sr. – Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) fourth kill of the evening tying the score 1-1.
Stevens Point had an answer for the Eau Claire equalizing set with an early 9-5 lead. Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) held her own on defense with 8 of her 20 total digs in the third set. Barrett and Charlie Nelson (Jr. – Lakeville, MN/Farmington) combined for 41 digs on the night as Nelson led the team with 21.
The Pointers closed out set three with a 6-3 run to gain the 2-1 set advantage
In the fourth, UWEC battled back early to gain a 12-9 lead. Avery Pennekamp tallied nine kills through the set and Selena Levendoski (Sr. – Clear Lake, WI/Clayton) tallied 5 of her 6 total kills in set four. A momentum swing for Eau Claire in the later portion of the set pushed them ahead 17-15 to quiet the home crowd at Berg Gym. Both sides traded points as the set continued, but it was the Pointers stringing together a 3-1 run at the end to give Eau Claire the 3-1 loss.
The Blugolds (17-5, WIAC 4-1) will remain on the road and have a quick turnaround as they face nonconference opponent, Marian University on Saturday, October 14th. First serve is scheduled for 2PM.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
