OSHKOSH, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team continued their play in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament on Thursday evening with a semifinal matchup with UW-Oshkosh. The Blugolds fought hard all night but ultimately had their season come to an end as they fell to the Titans, 3-0.
UW-Eau Claire came out fast against the one seeded UWO with an 8-3 run.
Bailey Leeke (So. Lakeville, Minn./North) led the offense in the first set recording a team high four kills to start. Leeke led Eau Claire all night with 13 of the team's 36 kills. After a timeout, the Titans closed the gap to 9-9, but the Blugolds kept pressing with a 3-1 run with kills from
Avery Pennekamp (So. – McFarland, Wis.) and
Maren Saunders (Sr. – Saint Michael, Minn./STMA). UWO answered with a 10-2 run to give UWEC a 20-14 deficit. A late kill from Leeke wasn't enough as the Blugolds dropped the first set 25-15.
In the second, Bailey Leek and
Avery Pennekamp tallied four kills apiece as
Charlie Nelson (Sr. – Lakeville, Minn./Farmington) recorded eight of her 28 total assists on the night. UW-Eau Claire faced an early 10-6 deficit but battled back to a one-point deficit off a
Lili Hagg (Fr. – Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) kill. The two teams traded points down the stretch as
Makina Larson (Fr. – Carver, Minn./Chaska) and
Bailey Leeke chipped away at the Oshkosh lead, but the Titans sealed the second set 25-20 to take a 2-0 set lead.
The final set of the night saw a defensive stand by the Blugolds as
Sheridan Dettmann (Sr. – Watertown, Wis.) recorded eight of her 26 totals digs.
Charlie Nelson and
Maren Saunders both recorded solo blocks as UWEC fought to keep their season alive. A 5-2 run by Eau Claire halfway through the frame cut the Titan lead to 16-15 off Saunders's solo block. The momentum swing reversed after a UWO timeout as Oshkosh rattled off a 4-1 to regain a four-point lead and force an UWEC timeout. A late kill from
Avery Pennekamp was the final point for Eau Claire as Oshkosh closed the game with a block to hand UWEC the 3-0 loss.
The Blugolds finish their season with a record of 16-14 and 3-4 in conference play.
