WHITEWATER, Wis. ?After losing the first two matches, the UW-Eau Claire volleyball team stormed back to force a fifth game, but lost that game as it fell 3-2 to UW-Whitewater tonight.

The third-ranked Warhawks improve to 4-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) and 18-2 overall. The Blugolds drop to 2-2 in conference matches and 13-7 in all matches.

Today's scores were 18-30, 24-30, 30-23, 30-28, and a heartbreaking 13-15. Eau Claire hit .068 and .139 in games one and two while Whitewater had percentages of .200 and .146. The Blugolds then topped out at .267 in game three before hitting .205 in the fourth game. The home team hit .111 and .140 in those games. The Warhawks outhit Eau Claire .333-to-.133 in the deciding game. In the end, the teams were close in hitting, with Eau Claire edging Whitewater .168-to-.166.

Abby Freiborg (Jr.-Sacred Heart, MN/Renville County West) had 17 kills to lead the Blugolds while Katie Fox (Jr.-Chippewa Falls/Chi-Hi) contributed 12. Whitewater had four in double-digit kills and posted 68 total kills to Eau Claire's 58. Emily Haese (Jr.-Mishicot) set up the Blugolds' offense with 41 assists.

On defense, Eau Claire put up 110 digs while the Warhawks dug out 99. Heather Harnell (Sr.-Minnetonka, MN) tallied 27 digs in a solid effort. Five others had double-digit digs, including Haese and Cary Rasmussen (So.-Sparta) with 19 apiece. The Warhawks had 12.0 blocks to the Blugolds' 6.0

Eau Claire is 18-35 against the Warhawks all-time and has lost five straight to them. Whitewater also won its ninth consecutive match.

Eau Claire will finish up its WIAC road trip tomorrow in a 2 p.m. showdown against UW-Stevens Point. After that, the team will be home for four straight matches.

Eau Claire-Whitewater Box Score

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