EAU CLAIRE, Wis. - There's no place like home for the UW-Eau Claire volleyball team. In its first home match of the season, the Blugolds upset 10th ranked UW-Oshkosh in a three-set sweep today at McPhee Physical Education Center.

It was a back and forth battle between the two teams, exchanging scoring rallies numerous times, but Eau Claire was able to maintain a lead throughout each set and come away with the victory with scores of 25-23, 25-17 and 25-20.

With the win, the Blugolds improve to 11-9 on the season, and stay undefeated in WIAC play with a 3-0 record. The Titans suffer just its second loss of the season and its first in the conference to fall to 20-2 overall, and 5-1 in conference matches.

In the first set, Eau Claire jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and never looked back. Oshkosh produced several ties in the set, but was unable to overcome early scoring rallies by the Blugolds. In the second set, Eau Claire hit its stride, and with the score at 16-12, the Blugolds rattled off a seven point rally to grab a commanding 23-12 lead. Oshkosh would get as close as 24-17, but were unable to mount a comeback. Eau Claire found itself down early in the third set, but quickly overcame the deficit and went up 16-11 midway through the set.

Head Coach Kim Wudi could not have been more pleased with her team's performance. "Today was a great match, being in front of our home crowd on senior day," said Wudi. "We had a lot of kids step up, and our seniors made huge plays for us all match."

Eau Claire led Oshkosh in nearly every statistical category including kills, blocks, assists and digs.

Abby Freiborg (Sr.-Sacred Heart, Minn./Renville County West) led the Blugolds with 13 kills and was second in digs with 11. Emily Haese (Sr.-Mishicot, Wis.) recorded 30 assists to pace the offense, and Lindsey Smith (Jr.-Maple Lake, Minn.) tallied a team-high 16 digs for Eau Claire.

The Titans were led by Ashley Sullivan's 15 kills and Christine Cahoon's 15 digs.

Next up for the Blugolds is another WIAC match at River Falls on Wednesday. The Falcons are currently 9-11 on the season, with a 1-3 conference record. Last season, Eau Claire swept River Falls at home on September 26, by scores of 30-13, 30-25 and 30-23. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.

- CL -