MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Blugolds.com) - The 13th-ranked UW-Eau Claire women's volleyball team split on day one of the Augsburg College Invitational, falling for the first time this season, tonight at Si Melby Hall.

While the Blugolds (7-1) kicked off the invite with a 3-0 win over Macalester College (Minn.) with scores of 25-11, 25-10 and 25-21, they were unable to win a set against the College of St. Benedict (Minn.) and fell 3-0 by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19.

The Blugolds controlled the first match with a season-best .338 hitting percentage compared to Macalester's .051. The 11 and 10 points the Blugolds held Macalester to in the first and second sets, respectively, were season-low opponent scores in sets played to 25 points.

In the second match against No. 21 St. Benedict, which also defeated the Blugolds last year in the second round of the NCAA Championship, Eau Claire couldn't get anything going. They finished with a season-low -0.007 hitting percentage and 30 attack errors while St. Benedict hit .169.

Amy Bromgren (Fr.-Woodbury, Minn.) led match one with 10 kills and hit a .714, a career-high and team-best this year. She also recorded a match-high eight digs and finished with three service aces.

Liz Amici (So.-Whitewater, Wis.) had a team-high seven kills against St. Benedict while Lindsey Smith (Sr.-Maple Lake, Minn.) and Blair Murphy (Jr.-Hermantown, Minn.) finished with 13 and 10 digs, respectively.

On the night, Emily Neave (Fr.-Salem, Wis./Westosha Central) picked up 31 assists and Amanda Lessner (Jr.-Watertown, Wis.) recorded 22.

Eau Claire is now 18-11 all-time against Macalester, having won four of the last five meetings, while the Blugolds hold a 13-13 record against St. Benedict. Eau Claire has lost the last four meetings against St. Ben's.

Tomorrow the Blugolds will be back in action at 11 a.m. for a match against Northwestern College (Minn.) at the Augsburg Invite. Following the match, four more will be played to determine a tournament champion. The fifth and seventh-place matches are slated for 1 p.m. while the championship and third-place matches are scheduled to start at 3 p.m.