LA CROSSE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – For the first time since Sept. 22, 2012, the UW-Eau Claire volleyball team dropped a conference match, falling 3-0 (25-20, 25-17, 25-21) to UW-La Crosse at Mitchell Hall tonight.
The Blugolds came into tonight's contest on a seven-match conference winning streak, the seventh longest conference winning streak in school history.
In the first set, Eau Claire led 3-2 but after a 5-0 run by the Eagles, the Blugolds never recovered. La Crosse's largest lead of the set was eight points, twice, and the Blugolds were able to get as close as five near the end.
The second set started similar to the first set. At 14-11 in favor of La Crosse, the Eagles then used a four-point run to get up by seven and outscored the Blugolds 7-6 the rest of the way to win 25-17.
La Crosse began the third set up 3-0 but Eau Claire then scored four straight to take a 4-3 lead. The teams kept it close and while it was 10-9 with La Crosse leading, the Eagles then had a 5-0 run to get up 15-9. Eau Claire got to within three by the end (24-21) but La Crosse took a timeout and then got one more point for the win.
Mackenzee Pierog (Fr.-Eau Claire, Wis./North) led the Blugolds with six kills and had a match-high hitting percentage of .600 (6-for-10). The Blugolds finished with 31 kills and a hitting percentage of .121 to La Crosse's 52 kills and a .319 hitting percentage.
Kelly Schuh (Sr.-Appleton, Wis./Hortonville) had nine digs to lead the team while Maggie Holcombe (Fr.-Shakopee, Minn.) and Jenna Smits (So.-Green Bay, Wis./Preble) each had 13 set assists to lead the Blugolds.
Eau Claire is now 10-9 on the season and 2-1 in conference play. La Crosse improves to 6-8 overall and 2-1 in the WIAC.
Friday, the Blugolds will hold the Sixth Annual Breast Cancer Awareness and Fundraising Event, taking on UW-Platteville at 7 p.m. in Zorn Arena. View Event Info
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