EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – Coming off a 3-0 win over No. 21 Northwestern (MN) on Wednesday, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team faced another ranked opponent on Friday to kick-off the 2018 Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament, presented by Nike/Eastbay.

Box Score | Tournament Website

On a hot and humid day in the McPhee Center, the Blugolds took down No. 9 Gustavus Adolphus College (MN) 3-2 (25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 18-25, 15-13) to improve to 9-1 on the season.

The two squads traded points to start until the Blugolds went on a 6-2 run to take a 19-11 lead and force a Gustie timeout. Gustavus came out of the timeout to take the next two points but UW-Eau Claire would buckle down and take the set 25-18.

Gustavus held an early lead to start the second set, but Makenzie Bachmann (So. – Chaska, MN) would serve up some points for the Blugolds, spurring a seven-point run for Eau Claire. The Gusties fought back but Libby Macken (Fr. – Centerville, MN/Centennial) came off the bench to serve three-straight aces for the Blugolds. Bachmann would seal the second set with a kill from Madison Surprise (Sr.-Appleton, WI/Kimberly).

Despite falling in sets three and four, Eau Claire would keep fighting to pull out a 15-13 win in the decisive set.

Madelyn Pashibin (Sr.-Minneapolis, MN/Southwest) led the way with 16 kills while Abby Volk (Fr. – Willmar, MN) and Bachmann recorded 10 and nine, respectively. Surprise tallied 39 assists in the win and Taylor Scalia (So. – Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) added 22 digs.

The Blugolds will face Concordia-Moorhead and Edgewood Saturday at 12 and 4 p.m. Follow the action on Blugold Game Day or on the 'UWEC Blugolds' app on your mobile device.