ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The UW-Eau Claire volleyball team split on the final day of the College of St. Benedict Tournament, falling to host St. Benedict 3-0 and then bouncing back for a 3-1 victory over St. Olaf College (Minn.), taking third place overall at the tournament.

The Blugolds are now 6-6 on the season. St. Benedict improved to 8-3 with its win, while St. Olaf dropped to 9-3.

In the first match of the day, the Blugolds played the Blazers closely but were unable to pick up a win. Eau Claire lost the first two sets 26-24 and lost 25-17 in the third. The second match went better for the Blugolds. They defeated St. Olaf with scores of 25-21, 23-25, 25-20 and 25-14.

In the first match, Abby Freiborg (Sr.-Sacred Heart, Minn./Renville County West) and Emily Zupon (So.-Antigo, Wis.) led the team with nine kills apiece, while Katie Fox (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chi-Hi) and Danielle Lucia (So.-St. Cloud, Minn./Apollo) each added eight. Fox and Lucia each also hit .316 for the match. Freiborg led the Blugolds with 15 digs and Rachel Ver Voort (So.-Madison, Wis./Middleton) was second on the team with 13. Emily Haese (Sr.-Mishicot, Wis.) paced the offense with 34 assists.

In the day's second match, four Blugolds reached double-digit kill totals with Freiborg leading the charge with 16. Fox had 12, while Zupon and Lucia each contributed 11. Lucia also served up four aces, while Lindsey Smith (Jr.-Maple Lake, Minn.) led the team with 14 digs. Haese ended the match with 42 assists.

Freiborg and Haese were also named to the All-Tournament Team for their performances.

Next Friday the Blugolds will open up conference action with a trip to La Crosse. They will face the Eagles at 7 p.m. Eau Claire will then travel to Platteville Saturday for a match against the Pioneers at noon.

Eau Claire-St. Benedict Box Score

Eau Claire-St. Olaf Box Score

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