Box Score La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team earned a 3-2 (25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-9) victory over UW-Stout Wednesday night in Mitchell Hall.  The Eagles, winners of four straight, improve to 12-4 overall and 2-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Blue Devils drop to 10-10 overall and 1-1 in the WIAC.  With the win, UWL starts 2-0 in the WIAC for the first time since 2003.  The Eagles finished 33-6 overall and 7-1 in the WIAC in 2003 while advancing to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Quarterfinals.   UWL claimed a share of the regular-season conference title in 2003 and won its only league tournament championship in school history. 

"This team has potential to go great things," said UWL head coach Lily Hallock.  "We have potential to win the conference tournament and we have the potential to reach the NCAA Tournament.  We need to come out strong at the start of the match and play steady throughout." 

The opening set Wednesday was tied 13-13 when UWL scored four straight points and UW-Stout could get no closer than four points the rest of the set.  The Eagles led 16-13 in the second set, but the Blue Devils used a 5-0 run to lead 18-16 after a UWL hitting error.  UWL came back to take a 21-20 advantage on a Stephanie Henk kill, but kills from Ashley Pratt, Emily Bialka and Carly Troudt gave UW-Stout the 23-21 lead.  The Blue Devils went on to record the 25-22 victory. 

UWL raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third set and later led 8-3, but UW-Stout came back to force a 10-10 tie.  The set was tied 20-20 when UWL's Ashley Entinger recorded three straight kills to make it 23-20.  Entinger's final kill of the set gave the Eagles the 25-21 victory.  The fourth set was even at 8-8 when UW-Stout went on a 7-2 run to lead 15-10.  UWL cut the lead to 21-18 and later made it 24-22, but UW-Stout earned the win to even the match. 

UW-Stout took a 1-0 lead in the fifth and deciding set on a Payton Schultz ace, but UWL scored five straight points to lead 5-1.  The Blue Devils could get no closer than two points the rest of the way.  UWL hit .238 (8-3-21) in the fifth set while UW-Stout hit negative .105 (4-6-19). 

Leah Putzier led UWL with 17 kills Wednesday night while Ashley Entinger finished with 14 and Jill Entinger with 10.  Ashley Entinger hit .314 (14-3-35) for the match while Jill Entinger hit .360 (10-1-25).  The Eagles hit .182 as a team (61-30-170).  Maddie Entinger recorded 53 assists. 

Danica Johnson led five players in double figures in digs with 19 while Putzier recorded a double-double with 16 digs.  Johnson also had three aces. Paige Schmidt finished with 11 digs while Maddie Entinger and Hallie Locher each had 10.  The Eagles had 8.0 total blocks wiht Jessica Jablonski finishing with one block solo and four block assists. 

"People are stepping up when they have the opportunity and it's great to see," said Hallock.  "They are competitive as a group, but are very supportive of each other."  

UWL has already surpassed last year's win total of nine with its 12 victories in 2015.  "We have a lot of the same people on the court, but the experience we gained last year playing together has created a great chemistry," said Hallock.  

The Eagles are 3-0 at home this year.  "We are very protective of our home court and want to make sure we are successful playing in Mitchell Hall," added Hallock.

Pratt led UW-Stout with 13 kills while Kennedy Strain and Rachel Tschumperlin each finished with 12.  The Blue Devils hit .209 as a team (54-20-163).  Bialka finished with 36 assists.

Schultz registered a match-leading 20 digs while Bialka finished with 13, Steph Cannon 12 and Molly Brion 10.  UW-Stout finished with 11.0 total blocks with Tschumperlin having five block assists.

UWL returns to action Saturday, October 3 at Edgewood College (Wis.) with a pair of matches.  The Eagles face Dominican University (Ill.) at 2 p.m. and Edgewood (Wis.) at 4 p.m.