La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team fell 3-2 (19-25, 15-25, 25-22, 25-20, 13-15) to 18th-ranked UW-Eau Claire Friday night in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles drop to 8-9 overall and 0-3 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) while the Blugolds improve to 10-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference. UW-Eau Claire is ranked 18th in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll.
The opening set was tied, 8-8, when UW-Eau Claire went on a 7-4 run to lead 15-11. UWL cut the lead to 20-18, but could get no closer. The Blugolds went on a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 lead in the second set. UWL cut the lead to 12-7, but UW-Eau Claire used a 6-2 run to lead 18-9.
UWL trailed, 4-3, in the third set, but a 5-0 run gave the Eagles a 8-4 lead. UW-Eau Claire later trailed 14-13, but three straight points by UWL made it 17-13 after a
Caitlin Griffin kill. The Blugolds' Makenzie Bachmann delivered a kill to cut the Eagles' advantage to 20-18, but a
Abbey Fox kill and
Sophie Quelle ace made it a four-point game. Sarah Kuchcik's kill for UW-Eau Claire cut the lead 23-22, but
Emma Lawrence finished the set with a pair of kills.
Emma Lawrence had 30 kills and 15 digs.
The Eagles scored the first five points of the fourth set, but the Blugolds came back to take a 12-11 lead. UWL quickly responded scoring the next seven points for a 18-12 lead. UW-Eau Claire cut it to 22-20, but a pair of kills from Griffin and one from Lawrence ended the set.
UW-Eau Claire never trailed in the fifth and deciding set, scoring the first six points and later leading, 10-2. UWL trailed, 12-4, when it went on a 9-2 run to make it 14-13. The Blugolds earned the win after an Eagles' hitting error.
Lawrence led UWL with 30 kills while
Anna Rossner finished with eight. Fox and
Liz Lansink each had seven. Fox recorded 46 assists as the Eagles hit .202 (65-27-188). Fox led UWL with 22 digs while
Courtney Conway finished with 12 and
Isabelle Jensen 11. Lawrence recorded a double-double finishing with 15 digs.
UWL totaled 5.0 team blocks.
Kuchcik led UW-Eau Claire with 15 kills. Kendra Baierl and Arianna Barrett both finished with 14 kills while Bachmann had 13. Leah Witzel totaled 30 assists while Abbey Pederson 26 as the Blugolds hit .258 (64-15-190). Taylor Scalia led UW-Eau Claire with 22 digs. Sheridan Dettmann finished with 12, Bachmann 11 and Witzel 10.
UW-Eau Claire totaled 15.0 team blocks. Baierl finished with nine block assists while Barrett had eight.
UWL returns to action Wednesday, October 9 at UW-River Falls at 7 p.m.
