By Matt Halverson, UWEC Sports Information
WHITEWATER, Wis. (Blugolds.com) - The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team (27-9, 4-3 WIAC) upset Gustavus-Adolphus College (25-13, 17-25, 25-20, 28-26) in round one of the NCAA Championship tournament.
The Blugolds started out strong with an 8-4 lead in set one thanks to a serving rally led by Katrina Raskie (Jr.-Weston, Wis/D.C. Everest), and were able to get momentum on their side in the early goings of the match. After grabbing the lead they never let go, finishing the opening set off with a 10-2 run to seal it 25-13.
Although the Gusties racked up a substantial error tally in the opening set, they would not fade in the second. A 7-1 rally got the Gustavus hitters going in set two as the momentum would shift slowly away from Eau Claire. Despite a late comeback effort, the Blugolds fell 25-17, evening the match at one set a piece.
Set three started mostly even with both teams trading back and forth points to tie the set at 10-10. This would be the last tie of the set, because a high-flying Blugold attack put together 9-0 run behind the outstanding serving of libero Talia Jaskulske (So.-Maplewood, Minn./North St. Paul). Eau Claire's still red hot hitters closed the set out 25-20 to win the pivotal third set and take a 2-1 lead over favored Gustavus-Adolphus.
Although the Blugold hitters continued to find holes in the Gustie defense, set four was arguably the most hard-fought of them all. Neither team was able to establish a lead greater than four, ultimately leading up to a 24-24 tie late in the set. The teams traded points yet again, forcing a 26-26 tie. With everything on the line, who other than outside hitter Katrina Raskie came up with a huge kill to put the Blugolds up 27-26, their third match point of the set. The Gusties countered on the next point with an attack by their 6'2 star middle hitter Alyssa Taylor, only to meet a block by the Blugold's Kelly Reisgraf (Sr.-Chaska, Minn./Chaska) to seal the win.
Eau Claire's offense boasted four hitters with double digit kills, including Katrina Raskie, Kelly Riesgraf, Emily Miller (So.-Prior Lake, Minn/Prior Lake), and Keagan Kinsella (Chanhassen, Minn./Chanhassen). Raskie led the team with 13 kills, along with 13 digs and 3 aces.
The hard-fought 3-1 victory is Eau Claire's first win in the NCAA tournament since November 8, 2012 when they topped Wartburg in five sets. They will play their second round game Friday against Bethel University at 4:30 p.m. in Kachel Gymnasium of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Bethel won their first round matchup over Hope College 3-0.
