EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team hosted their final regular-season home game on Friday evening with the #20 ranked UW-Stevens Point Pointers in town. As both teams fought for Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) playoff positioning, it was the Blugolds' late offensive surge that earned them the 3-2 upset victory.
The opening set featured a back-and-forth attack between the two squads as the two teams combined for 14 tie scores and 7 lead changes.
Avery Pennekamp (So. – McFarland, Wis.) led the UWEC offense from the beginning with seven of her 21 total kills coming in set one. UW-Eau Claire found themselves with a 23-20 lead late in the set, but UWSP answered with a 4-0 run to earn set point. A big block from
Makina Larson (Fr. – Carver, Minn./Chaska and
Lili Hagg (So. – Lakeville, Minn./North) tied the score at 24-24 but the Pointers strung the following two points together to take the first set, 26-24.
While being down 1-0, the Blugolds promptly answered in the second set as the offense recorded 13 kills on 31 attempts and the defense cornered the Pointers into 5 kills and 6 errors on 31 attempts. The consistent play from Eau Claire came from the opening serve as UWEC stormed out to a 9-1 lead.
Ella Kiebel (So. – Maple Lake, Minn.) added two of her three total service aces during the beginning run as the Blugolds established their control early. As the opposition tried to slow down Eau Claire, Pennekamp and
Mya Cinnamo (Fr. – Rosemount, Minn.) combined for nine of UWEC's 13 kills during the second frame. Two Blugold duo recorded the final two kills of the set as UWEC tied the match at 1-1.
The third set kept the momentum from the second as the Blugolds jetted off to a 7-3 lead. The Pointers responded with multiple 3-0 runs to take a 16-14 lead. Despite late back-to-back kills from Pennekamp and
Maren Saunders (Sr. – Saint Michael, Minn./STMA), UWSP closed the set out with a 4-1 run to put Eau Claire against the wall with a 2-1 deficit.
In the fourth, UW-Eau Claire hit at their highest conversion rate with a 34.3% attacking percentage.
Charlie Nelson (Sr. – Lakeville, Minn./Farmington) continued to set up the Eau Claire offense with assists as Nelson recorded ten of her 50 total assists in the 4
th set. With the 2-1 set deficit looming, the Blugolds closed out the fourth frame with a 6-0 run to force the tiebreaker fifth set.
The final set of the night was won and controlled at the net as UWEC recorded four of their 12 total block assists and tallied seven kills during the tie break. An opening 4-4 tie was jumped on by the Blugolds as they outscored UWSP 7-3 to earn a 11-7 lead. Kills from
Avery Pennekamp and
Bailey Leeke (So. – Lakeville, Minn./North) were followed by a service error from the Pointers to se the 15-9 set win and 3-2 upset home victory for Eau Claire.
The Blugolds (14-13, WIAC 3-4) will wrap up their regular season with a road game on Saturday, November 4
th when they travel to Decorah, Iowa for a nonconference matchup with Luther College. First serve is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Regents Center Gymnasium.
