EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team participated in day two of the 8th annual Sandy Schumacher Memorial tournament presented by Nike/Eastbay. After splitting their first two games of the tournament, UW-Eau Claire bounced back on Saturday with a 3-0 sweep over Lakeland College and completed a comeback in a fifth set against Gustavus Adolphus College to increase their season record to 12-2.
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
The Blugolds spent no time getting back to their gameplan as they built an early lead in game one. A 7-2 run by the home side helped establish an unbreakable lead in the first set. Kendra Baierl (Sr. – Marshfield, WI/Columbus Catholic) led the way with five successful kills while swinging at 57.1%. The second set held a much more even back and forth as the teams traded ties five times in the frame. Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) totaled five of her eleven kills in the middle frame while swinging at a rate of .833.
The final set would start similarly to the second one, but eventually UWEC put together multiple five-point runs to out away the Muskies 25-17. The 3-0 win records as Eau Claire's eighth sweep of the year.
In the final game of the tournament, the Blugolds took on the Gusties from Gustavus Adolphus College. With both teams coming off wins in their previous morning matches, the tension and will to win were at all-time highs.
In the first set, Mackenzie Bachmann (Sr. – Chaska, MN) collected five kills, with three other Blugolds collecting four of their own to push UWEC to a 25-18 set win. The following sets did not go in Eau Claire's favor as Gustavus won a closely contested second set (26-24) and the third 25-16.
The Blugolds hit the reset button in the fourth set behind Jordan Witzel's (Jr. – Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) five successful attacks. The home squad put together a six-point run late in the frame to secure the fifth tiebreaker set.
An 8-1 start by Gustavus silenced the Blugold crowd early in the set, but Head Coach Kim Wudi and her athletes never gave up as they rallied back to tie the game at 15 apiece. Kendra Baierl took advantage with the 31st point as the Gusties setter played the ball over the net high enough for Baierl to swing away and gain the first Blugold lead of the frame. The final point was executed to perfection. After a roll from the outside hitter of Gustavus, Eau Claire gathered the ball and slotted the free ball to Charlie Nelson (So. – Lakeville, MN/Farmington) in the middle. As soon as the dig went up, Baierl pushed wide on a backside slide behind Nelson and pounded the set cross court past all the Gustie defenders for the 17-15 win.
The Blugolds will be back at home on Wednesday, September 22nd as they return to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play. UWEC will host nationally ranked UW-Whitewater in a battle of two top-15 teams in the nation. First serve is scheduled for 7 PM and UWEC will celebrate Youth Night.
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