ST. PAUL, Minn. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team started play in the 2022 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Regional Tournament on Thursday afternoon. UW-Eau Claire faced off with Gustavus Adolphus College in the first round of the regional tournament, hosted by the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. After dropping the first two sets, UW-Eau Claire battled back in the third to gain some momentum, but ultimately fell in the fourth set to fall 3-1.
The opening set saw seven tie scores and six lead changes between the Blugolds, and the Gusties as the NCAA Regional Tournament showcased competitive play in the first contest. Eau Claire found their first couple leads in the first set as both sides traded points to an 8-8 hold. Gustavus put together a four-point run to gain a 11-8 lead. Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, Minn./North) and Avery Pennekamp (Fr. – McFarland, Wis.) combined for nine kills as UWEC battled hard to eliminate their deficit. A late three-point run by Eau Claire was too late as the Gusties answered with the next to points and a 25-16 set victory.
The second frame began with another Blugold deficit as the Gusties came out with an 8-4 advantage as Eau Claire errors began to stack up. A total of nine errors and six kills for the Blugolds in the second set allowed Gustavus to take set, 25-17. Sheridan Dettmann (Sr. – Watertown, Wis.) tallied 10 of her 25 total digs in the second set to lead the Blugolds defensively. Hanne Johnson (Fr. – Grantsburg, Wis.) and Arianna Barrett were close behind with their dig totals of 18 and 16, respectively.
With their backs against the wall and facing elimination, Eau Claire refused to back down. A four-point run by UWEC gave them a 5-2 advantage to start the third set. Later in the frame, the Blugolds strung together another four-point run to regain their lead at 9-7. Hannah Flottmeyer (Sr. – Madison, Wis./Middleton) and Arianna Barrett combined for nine kills throughout the third set. Barrett and Flottmeyer contributed to a three-point run later in the frame to extend their lead to 19-15. Maren Saunders (Sr. – St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville) sealed the set victory with a kill from the middle to force a fourth set.
In the fourth set, Gustavus answered with a 12-4 run to start the frame. Eau Claire answered with a 5-1 run of their own to close the gap to a four-point game at 13-9. Down the stretch, both squads would trade multipoint runs as the Blugolds slimmed their deficit to just one point with a four-point run with kills from Pennekamp and Saunders to make it 21-20. The Gusties would put the away with a 4-1 run, defeating UW-Eau Claire, 3-1.
The Blugolds finish their season with an overall record of 21-10 after making the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
