EAU CLAIRE - The UW-Eau Claire women's volleyball team started its Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference campaign with a convincing 3-0 triumph over No. 11-ranked UW-Oshkosh in the McPhee Phy Ed Center Friday night.

The Blugolds, ranked No. 5 in the most recent AVCA Division III poll, breezed to 30-26, 30-25, 30-19 wins to improve their season record to 12-1. The Blugolds trailed only once during the entire match in posting their fifth straight match victory.

The Blugolds hit .311 for the match and notched 49 kills, led by senior Jodi Dunbar (Platteville) who had 15. Senior Jess Groh (Eau Claire/North) hit .533 with nine kills while junior Nikki Peterson (North St. Paul, MN/North) hit .636 with eight kills. Groh, Peterson and senior Ashley Danielson (Cadott) were all involved in four blocked shots.

Senior Carly Freiborg (Sacred Heart, MN/Renville County West) had 36 assists and 13 digs to share team honors in that category with libero Shanna Berger (Sr.-Baldwin/Baldwin-Woodville).

The only facet of play in which the Blugolds did not shine was serving with 13 service errors. However, Oshkosh had a similar problem with just one ace and eight service errors. The Titans also hit just .119 as a team in falling to 13-3 for the season and 1-1 in the WIAC.

The win was the Blugolds' third straight over the Titans after a four-match losing streak. Oshkosh still leads the all-time series, 40-27.

The Blugolds will be off until they travel to UW-River Falls next Wednesday for another conference showdown. Oshkosh travels to Superior Saturday for a WIAC match.

Eau Claire-Oshkosh Box Score

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