OSHKOSH - The second-seeded UW-Eau Claire volleyball team swept through the first day of the NCAA Division III National Tournament with a victory over seventh-seeded Lakeland College in the Midwest Regional. The games went 30-21, 30-19, and 30-23.

The Blugolds and the Muskies kept relatively close in the first game. Each team made a couple of small runs, but hung in until the score was 21-20 in favor of Eau Claire. The Blugolds then went on a 9-1 run to capture game one. They hit .175 with 14 kills and seven errors. Lakeland had a .176 hitting percentage, 12 kills, and six errors.

Eau Claire then ran away with game two. At 9-8, the Blugolds never looked back and led for the rest of the match. The hitting percentage came in at .455 with 18 kills and three errors. Game two saw a .063 game for the Muskies. They also had 10 kills and eight errors.

Eau Claire had a fast start in the last game, going up 12-4. The team finished strong as well with a 9-3 run to finish off the day. It hit .324, had 15 kills, and committed four errors. The opponents were held to .049 and 11 kills. They had nine errors.

Molly Menard (Sr.-Eau Claire/Memorial) dominated, having 18 kills. Jodi Dunbar (Jr.-Platteville) was behind her at 13 kills. Carly Freiborg (Jr.-Sacred Heart, MN/Renville County West) had the most assists with 41. Shanna Berger (Jr.-Baldwin/Baldwin-Woodville) led in digs while having 10. Jessica Groh (Jr.-Eau Claire/North) and her seven blocks also led.

The Blugolds had 11.0 blocks, while the Muskies had 6.0. Eau Claire also led in kills with 47 compared to the Lakeland 33. The Blugolds hit .308 and kept the Muskies to .093.

Eau Claire will now play Oshkosh, who defeated Carthage College 3-2 in the first round. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m. Friday. The other second round match is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Whitewater and Platteville will face each other in this match. Both matches will be played at the Kolf Sports Center in Oshkosh.

Eau Claire-Lakeland Box Score

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