MINNEAPOLIS, MN (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team was back on the road on Friday as they began play in the 2022 Augsburg Invitational hosted by Augsburg University. After a dominating 3-0 victory in game one against the Pacific Lutheran University (WA) Lutes, the No. 5 UW-Eau Claire Blugolds fell to the host Auggies, 3-1, to split the evening in results with one win and one loss.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
The first set of the evening found moments of ebbs and flows for both sides as Eau Claire came out with a 9-3 lead. The Lutes pulled together multiple five-point runs to hang around and put the pressure on the Blugolds. A 22-16 lead was diminished to 24-23 before Sophia Brown (So. – Colgate, WI/Germantown) sealed the deal with her first kill of the evening, 25-23. Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN) led the surge of Blugold offense in game one with four of her 12 total kills in the first set.
Capitalization off Pacific attacking errors helped keep UWEC in front as they kept their opponents to a -0.026 hitting percentage in the middle set. An eight-point run by the Blugolds early on put them ahead by six points and gave them a lead that never wavered. Charlie Nelson (Jr. – Lakeville, MN) tallied 12 of her 37 total assists in game one to help Eau Claire win the third set, 25-21.
In the final set, UWEC pulled away before the midway point with two separate three-point runs earning them a 14-10 lead. The Lutes did not go down without a fight as there were six tie points and three lead changes. Selena Levendoski (Sr. – Clear Lake, WI/Clayton) found her groove with five of her six total kills in the final set to keep UWEC with the momentum. Hannah Flottmeyer (Sr. – Madison, WI/Middleton) and Maren Saunders (Sr. – St. Michael, MN/ST-MA) kept the defense at the ready with three total block assists each in the 3-0 victory.
Charlie Nelson, Bailey Leeke (Fr. – Lakeville, MN/North), and Jordan Witzel (Sr. – Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) led from the service line with three service aces each in game one.
The second match of the day was a nailbiter as both teams combined for 25 tie scores and six lead changes through four sets of play. A 13-7 deficit found the Blugolds down early, but Arianna Barrett kept things flying as the Blugolds battled back with final four points for a 26-24 set win. Barrett would finish the second game with a team high 19 kills and 31 on the day.
Both sides found their best hitting percentages in the second set as they combined for 33 kills on 69 attempts, but it was Augsburg who pulled away victorious in the end to shut down another Blugold comeback.
Sets three and four found a back-and-forth style of play between the two sides with 14 tie scores and four lead changes between the squads. A six-point run in the third and two separate late runs in the fourth put the home team just far enough out of the reach of UWEC for their second loss of the season.
The Blugolds (3-2, WIAC 0-0) will continue play in the Auggie Invite tomorrow, Saturday, September 9th with two matches. Eau Claire will face off against Minnesota-Morris and Gustavus Adolphus with the first game beginning at 12PM and the second at 2:30PM.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
