ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The 25th-ranked UW-Eau Claire volleyball team struggled 1-3 against St. Benedict (MN) but then rebounded with a 3-0 win over Buena Vista University (IA)in the St. Benedict Tourney.

The Blugolds hit .083 and .077 in the first two games of the St. Ben's match while losing 17-30 and 28-30. In game three, they hit .109 with a 30-20 victory. The St. Ben's defense came up big to keep the Blugolds to a .038 percentage in the fourth game, a 22-30 loss. The Blazers hit .348, .196, .028, and .160 in the match.

Lissa Martinez (Sr.-Vadnais Heights, MN/White Bear Lake) had 15 kills and Cary Rasmussen (So.-Sparta) totaled 11 to lead the Eau Claire attack. Emily Haese (Jr.-Mishicot) had 47 assists while Heather Harnell (Sr.-Minnetonka, MN) had 28 digs.

Though Eau Claire led in kills 52-to-48, St. Ben's had the edge in hitting .170-to-.043. The Blugolds also managed more assist (50-to-37) and digs (85-to-75), but St. Ben's had 12.0 blocks to 4.5 for Eau Claire.

The Blugolds hit much better in the second match, putting up scores of 30-28, 30-25, and 30-26 while hitting .256, .375, and .256.

Katie Fox (Jr.-Chippewa Falls/Chi-Hi) had the most kills at 16, but Abby Freiborg (Jr.-Sacred Heart, MN/Renville County West) had 14 and Martinez had 13. Haese's 58 assists also were tops. On defense, Rasmussen and Freiborg tallied 10 digs each.

The 8-4 Blugolds will next visit eighth-ranked UW-Oshkosh on Friday at 7 p.m.

Eau Claire-St. Ben's Box Score

Eau Claire-Buena Vista Box Score

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