By: Jake Krier, UWEC Sports Information

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - Kicking off Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play for 2017, the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire volleyball team defeated UW-River Falls in four sets on Wednesday evening at the McPhee Center. The Blugolds topped the Falcons 25-15, 20-25, 25-16, and 25-21.

In the opener, the Blugolds controlled set one from start to finish. They faced a small setback in the second, not quite able to mount the big comeback. The third set was similar to the first and was dominated by Eau Claire. Finally, after trailing early in set four, this time the blue and gold were able to finish out on top.

Contributing to the four-set winner were Madelyn Pashibin (Jr.-Minneapolis, MN/Minneapolis Southwest) and Jessica Coyne (Jr.-Verona, WI), each posting double-digit kills. Pashibin's 17 kills on 30 attacks put her at a .533 percentage, and Coyne added 13 kills of her own. Also having nice performances on the attack were Krista Meyer (Fr.-Germantown, WI) with eight kills and Emily Miller (Sr.-Prior Lake, MN) with five kills and .400 hitting efficiency coming off the bench.

Madison Surprise's (Jr.-Appleton, WI/Kimberly) 42 assists were a match-high, and her 10 digs finished second-best on the team only to libero Talia Jaskulske's (Sr.-Maplewood, MN/North St. Paul) 20 on the night.

Eau Claire out-pointed River Falls .223 to .125 in the all-important first win of the WIAC season.

Following Wednesday night's victory, the Blugolds now take a week off before heading to UW-Platteville on September 27.

Follow all the action on Blugold Game Day.