EAU CLAIRE - UW-Eau Claire struck back against the only team that had beaten them in UW-Stout, but then lost to Millikin University here on the first day of the Siegenthaler Memorial Tournament.

In the first match of the day the Blugolds beat the Blue Devils in four sets with scores of 30-20, 24-30, 30-24 and 30-25, though it does not count for conference play. The home team held Stout to under .200 for hitting percentage in all four sets. Meanwhile, Eau Claire hit .636 in the first game but then followed that up with .000 performance. They then hit in the .200's in the last two, including the come from behind finale.

Carly Freiborg (Jr.-Sacred Heart, MN/Renville County West) had 55 assists and kept many rallies alive to help the Blugolds claim victory. Molly Menard (Sr.-Eau Claire/Memorial) had 18 kills in the match to lead the team while Jenny Wolter (Sr.-Osceola) was close with 16. Defensively, Shanna Berger (Baldwin/Baldwin-Woodville) had 29 digs and the team combined for 13.5 blocks.

In the second match of the day the Blugolds faced Millikin and lost in four games with finals of 20-30, 30-25, 28-30, and 25-30. The Milikin Big Blue held Eau Claire to under .250 in all games.

Jodi Dunbar (Jr.-Platteville) was tops for the Blugolds with 15 kills. Carly Freiborg again led in assists with 41 this time Sister Abby Freiborg (Fr. - Sacred Heart, MN/Renville County West) had the most digs with 20.

This leaves Eau Claire at 1-1 in the home tournament. Millikin leads at 2-0, while Stout and UW-River Falls join the Blugolds at 1-1 with UW-River Falls finishing the day 0-2.

In the final day of the tournament tomorrow, Eau Claire faces Stevens Point at 11:00 a.m. and finishes up the day at 3:00 p.m. as they go against River Falls here at McPhee.

Day 1 Results

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