MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The UW-Eau Claire volleyball team made it to the Augsburg College Invitational championship match, but came up short, falling to No. 8 University of St. Thomas in five sets today.

After winning the first two sets 25-23 and 25-20, the Blugolds were unable to finish off St. Thomas in the championship match. The Tommies made a strong comeback and defeated Eau Claire 25-16, 25-14 and 15-11 in the final three sets to win the tournament.

In the match, Emily Zupon (So.-Antigo, Wis.) led the Blugolds with 12 kills. Katie Fox (Sr.-Chippewa Falls, Wis./Chi-Hi) led the Blugolds with a .231 hitting percentage. Emily Haese (Sr.-Mishicot, Wis.) had 45 assists to lead the match and Lindsey Smith (Jr.-Maple Lake, Minn.) led the team with 18 digs, while Abby Freiborg (Sr.-Sacred Heart, Minn./Renville County West) added 11. Freiborg also served up four aces in the match.

To get to the championship match, Eau Claire first had to take care of Schreiner University (Texas) earlier in the day. The Blugolds easily handled Schreiner, winning in three sets with scores of 25-23, 25-14 and 25-17. In the match, Fox contributed 10 kills and led the team with a .412 hitting percentage. Smith led the Blugolds with 10 digs and three service aces, while Haese led the match with 27 assists.

Both Haese and Zupon were named to the All-Tournament team. Zupon had the second most kills (53) in the tournament, while Haese tallied the second best assists per game average (9.07). The Blugolds are now 4-4 on the season following the tournament.

The Blugolds will compete in their third tournament this season, traveling to St. Joseph, Minn. for the St. Benedict Tournament. They will take on Bethany Lutheran at 3 p.m. and Hamline University at 5 p.m. next Friday. On Saturday the Blugolds will play St. Benedict at 10:30 a.m. and will finish the tournament at 12:30 p.m. with a match against St. Olaf.

Eau Claire-Schreiner Box Score

Eau Claire-St. Thomas Box Score

Tournament Website

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