EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team was back in action on Friday as they played in the NCAA Regional semifinal against Gustavus Adolphus College. As the offense started fast and strong, the Blugolds fought their way to a 3-1 win and a spot in the NCAA Regional finals.
The opening set was commanded by Eau Claire from the beginning as they went on an eight-point run to gain a comfortable lead. Charlie Nelson (So. – Lakeville, MN/North) recorded 15 of her 46 assists in the first set as three different Blugolds tallied four kills each and 17 kills as a team. The 25-16 initial set victory held some energy with the home squad as a packed McPhee gymnasium cheered on the No. 7 ranked team in the nation.
In the second set, momentum from set 1 seemed to carry over as UWEC took a 4-0 lead right out of the gate. That lead never wavered as Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) added five kills in the set to power the Blugolds to another 25-16 set win.
As Eau Claire continued their success through set 2, Gustavus came out firing in set three. The No. 4 seeded Gusties hit for a team percentage of .467 and a 25-16 set win of their own to avoid getting swept. The Eau Claire defense had no answer as UWEC didn't record any of their ten blocks in the third set and only tallied ten digs.
The final set was a thriller in front of the home crowd. After an aggressive 5-1 start by Gustavus, UWEC closed the gap to 6-8 early on. They then went on to tally a nine-point run, making it 15-8 halfway through. Jordan Witzel (Jr. – Woodbury, MN/East Ridge) led with five kills in the winning set and had a team high 15 successful attacks on the night. The comfortable lead was held by UWEC for the remainder of the evening as Makenzie Bachmann (Sr. – Chaska, MN) and Kendra Baierl (Sr. – Marshfield) stuffed a middle attack from the Gusties to win the fourth set 25-16.
Taylor Scalia (Sr. – Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) recorded 19 digs on the night.
The Blugolds will host the NCAA Regional final on Saturday, November 13th against Hope College in the McPhee Physical Education Center Gymnasium for a chance to make it to the NCAA Elite Eight. First serve is scheduled for 7PM.
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