ST. LOUIS, MO (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team was back at Washington University in St. Louis for the 2021 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship semifinal as they took on the Juniata College Eagles. After dropping the opening set, the Blugold defense stood strong and propelled UWEC to a 3-2 win and a berth in the National Championship match.
Both teams strung rallies of three and four together to keep the opening set a close, high scoring match. A combination of the Eagles' high-powered offense and Blugold attacking errors put UWEC down 25-20 to open the match. With a tough task at hand, it was the veteran leaders of Eau Claire to take control and earn a berth in the National Championship.
The leaders did just that as Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/North) and Taylor Scalia (Sr. – Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) turned the tide of the game in the second set. Barrett unleashed seven kills and Scalia gathered 10 digs on their way to a 30-28 set win. The extended frame held 18 tie scores and 11 lead changes before going in the Blugolds' favor.
The third set found UW-Eau Claire with momentum to start things off as they rallied to a 5-0 start. Juniata relentlessly pushed back with a five-point run to tie things at 6-6. The Eagles gained their first lead of the evening in the 15th point for an 8-7 lead. From there Juniata strung together back-to-back points while only giving up one-point rallies to Eau Claire as JC won set three, 25-20.
With their backs against the wall and season on the line, UW-Eau Claire put up their best defensive set in the fourth frame by holding Juniata to a 0.047 hitting percentage. With three of their fourteen blocks and eight JC attacking errors, the Blugolds would force the fifth set tiebreaker with a 25-19 victory in the 4th.
As both teams faced elimination, mistakes would be crucial in shortened set. The Blugolds made the most of their offense without committing a single attacking error. Kendra Baierl (Sr. – Marshfield, WI/Columbus Catholic) led the way with four kills on seven attempts and put up one of her five and a half blocks in crunch time. Makenzie Bachmann (Sr. – Chaska, MN) totaled six of her team leading 34 digs in the tiebreaker set.
After earning off a Sheridan Dettmann (Jr. – Watertown, WI) in the 25th point, the Blugolds surrendered the next two points for a 14-13 lead. After the Eagles' serve and a pass from the back row, Charlie Nelson (So. – Lakeville, MN/North) put up her 47th assist for Baierl in the middle who pounded it home to her right for the game-winning kill.
The Blugolds advance to the NCAA Championship finals on Saturday, November 20th at Washington University in St. Louis. Eau Claire will face the Calvin College Knights at 7PM CST.
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