EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The No. 10 ranked University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team hosted UW-Platteville at the McPhee center on Saturday for their final Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season game of the year. As the Blugolds celebrated Senior Night and looked to go undefeated in conference play, Kendra Baierl (Sr. – Marshfield, WI/Columbus Catholic) led the Blugolds with 20 kills to secure the 3-2 win.
The final regular season match for UWEC Volleyball did not disappoint as it held 26 tie scores and eight lead changes through the five sets played.
The initial set went in favor of the Blugolds after multiple three-point runs gathered them a comfortable lead and the eventual 25-17 win. Kendra Baierl started well with a team high 5 kills in the opening frame.
The second set was a much more even matchup as both teams forced 12 tie scores and three lead changes. UW-Platteville pulled away later in the frame with a three-point run helping to keep the Blugolds at bay. Despite three more ties in the final eight points, the Pioneers captured the 25-23 set win to tie it at one set a piece. The second set held 13 total errors (eight attacking, five serving) for UW-Eau Claire.
The home team would bounce back in the third with another close scoring frame. Baierl tallied another five kills in just seven attempts helping Eau Claire win 26-24. As a team, the Blugolds totaled six of their 18 block assists in the third set victory. Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) followed Baierl's lead with three successful attacks of her own.
The Pioneers would not go away easy as they forced a fifth set after winning the fourth, 25-15. After the 14th point tied the game at 7-7, UWP ran away with the rest of the set never giving up the lead.
The fifth and final set was a nail biter for the home crowd of 250. UWEC fell behind early and played from behind during most of the match. It wasn't until 14th point that they would finally tie the game but could not overtake the pioneers. As both teams traded points, Eau Claire fell behind 8-12. The Blugolds battled back to tie scores at 13 and 14, but Abby Volk (Sr. – Wilmar, MN) and Barrett would tally the final two points for a 16-14 tiebreaker win.
The Blugolds earned the first seed in WIAC Tournament with their 7-0 record and earned a first round bye. They will host one of the semifinal games on Thursday, November 4th at the McPhee Center. UWEC will take on the winner of UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh at 7PM.
Follow the Blugolds all season long at Blugold Game Day or on our app, UWEC Blugolds.
