EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The No. 10 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team was back in the McPhee Center celebrating Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night and hosting their final nonconference opponent of the season, Hamline University (Minn.) Taylor Scalia (Sr. – Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) had 23 digs during her defensive efforts putting her past former Blugold Lauren Sutherland for the third most career digs on program history. Along with Scalia's historic night, the Blugolds kept their opponents to a 0.081 hitting percentage and earned their ninth home win of the season, 3-1.
The first set would feature the Scalia milestone after the 14th point as she officially recorded her 1770th dig as both teams and the crowd applauded the accolade.
UWEC held the set's largest lead of seven halfway through the frame to gain comfortable ground on the Pipers. Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) capitalized early and often leading the Blugold with four of her 16 total kills in the opening set.
Abby Volk (Sr. – Willmar, MN) dominated play at the net by opening the evening with four block assists in UWEC's 25-20 set win. Volk finished the night with 6 total block assists.Charlie Nelson (So. – Lakeville, MN/Farmington) aided in the offensive success of Eau Claire with _ total assists throughout the night. Nelson has tallied 1,015 total assists in her first season on campus.
The second set would carry over the momentum from the initial set as Eau Claire never fell behind in points and earned another 25-20 win.
Barrett had the game's highest kills in a set with seven in the third frame. Eau Claire fell behind early in the set but made a late four-point rally to bring it to 23-24. Julianna Boyum (HU) sealed the set win for the Pipers and stopped the comeback with the final blow of the third to earn the visitors' their first set win.
Despite the set loss, Eau Claire put the momentum into overdrive and began the fourth with a 10-5 start. Kendra Baierl (Sr. – Marshfield, WI/Columbus Catholic) and Jordan Witzel (Jr. – Wodbury, MN/East Ridge) combined for ten kills in the final frame to power the Blugolds to a 25-13 set victory. Both Baierl and Witzel had 15 kills each on the evening.
The Blugolds will wrap up their regular season on Saturday, October 30th when they take on UW-Platteville for their final Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match of the year. UWEC will celebrate Senior Night to honor their eight athletes in their final year at Eau Claire. First serve is scheduled for 3 PM.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
