ST. PAUL, MN - The UW-Eau Claire volleyball team lost two of the final three games by a combined four points in falling to host Northwestern (MN) College 24-30, 30-23, 29-31, 31-29, 13-15 here tonight at Reynolds Field.

The Blugolds were 3-0 lifetime against the Eagles. In the last meeting between both schools was at the UW-River Falls Tournament in 1999 where the Blugolds won 3-1.

At the net the Blugolds owned a 75-48 advantage in kills totaling a .244 hitting percentage compared to .214 for the Eagles. The service line was a problem for the Blugolds as they committed 15 service errors with seven aces. The Eagles tallied 11 service aces to go along with nine service errors.

Molly Menard (Jr.-Eau Claire/Memorial) put up big numbers for the Blugolds recording 23 kills and 12 digs. Becca Carstensen (Sr.-Eau Claire/Memorial) totaled 17 kills and seven blocking assists. Lindsay Anderson (Sr.-Deephaven, MN/Hopkins) added 15 kills and Jenny Wolter (Jr.-Osceola) chipped in 10 kills. Carly Freiborg (So.-Sacred Heart, MN/Renville County West) finished the evening with 59 assists.

The Blugolds return to action this Friday as they will host the six-team UW-Eau Claire Labor Day Tournament. Action begins at 4:00 PM and will conclude on Saturday.