Eau Claire, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team fell 3-0 to UW-Eau Claire in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament (presented by Culvers) semifinals Thursday night.
THE BASICS
Final Score: #2 seed UW-Eau Claire defeats #6 seed UW-La Crosse
25-18, 25-20, 25-20
Location: Lisa Herb Court, Sonnentag Event Center, Eau Claire, Wis.
Records: UWL 21-12, UW-Eau Claire 27-3
Next Up: UWL's season comes to end as they finish with the most wins (21) in a season since the Eagles won 22 in 2017 season. UWL also advanced to the WIAC semifinals for the first time since winning the tournament championship.
HOW DID IT HAPPEN
- With the first set tied at 6-6, both teams would use 3-0 runs to make it 9-9. UW-Eau Claire would then go on a 5-1 run to take a 14-10 lead and force a UWL timeout. The Eagles would slowly chip away at their deficit and pull within 18-16 but that would be as close as they would get as the Blugolds won the first set 25-18.
- UW-Eau Claire opened the second set with a 7-3 run and eventually led 10-5. A Bella Kottke kill would cut the Eagles deficit to 15-11; however, the Blugolds would score four of the next five points to take its largest lead of the set at 19-12. A Kayla Sexton service ace would cut the Eagles deficit to 23-19; however, the Blugolds would score two of the final three points to win the second set 25-20.
- Trailing 5-4 early in the third set, UWL went on a 7-2 run to take an 11-7 lead and force a UW-Eau Claire timeout. The Blugolds would respond with a run of their own as they scored eight unanswered to lead 15-11. A Grace Turlais kill would pull the Eagles to within 21-16; however, UW-Eau Claire scored three of the next four points (24-17) and the Eagles would not recover as they fell 25-20.
FROM THE BOX SCORE
