MENOMONIE, Wis. (Blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team was back on the road Wednesday evening as they began Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play. UW-Eau Claire faced off against the undefeated UW-Stout Blue Devils for the schools' annual "War on 94" match in the Johnson Fieldhouse. The Blugolds came out to a fast 2-0 set lead but were forced to a fifth set tiebreaker. Avery Pennekamp (So. – McFarland, Wis.) and Mya Cinnamo (Fr. – Rosemount, Minn.) took over in the 5^th set with ten combined kills to earn the Blugolds their first WIAC victory on the year.
 
While in enemy territory, the Blugolds came out firing in the first set with a 6-2 lead. Mya Cinnamo led the team in the opening set with four of her season-high 20 kills to open the contest. Two Stout service errors and a service ace by Charlie Nelson (Sr. – Lakeville, Minn./Farmington) sealed the 25-14 victory.
 
The second set held Eau Claire's most consistent attack of the night as they hit at a .259 rate, led by Cinnamo once again. Along with four more kills by Mya, Avery Pennekamp, Makina Larson (Fr. – Carver, Minn./Chaska), and Maren Saunders (Sr. – St. Michael, Minn./STMA) combined for seven kills. Darienne Andre (So. – Lakeville, Minn./Rosemount) recorded two of her three total service aces in the in the second frame to help UWEC keep their initial lead throughout the set. Ella Kiebel (So. – Maple Lake, Minn.) and Charlie Nelson dished out assists all night long as the setting duo combined for 58 assists through five sets of play. Kiebel assisted on Eau Claire's final two kills by Pennekamp and Larson to earn the 25-15 second set win.
 
As in any rivalry game, the tides shifted dramatically during the game. The Blue Devils stormed back in the third and fourth sets to force a fifth set. The Blugolds competed during the third and fourth sets as the teams combined for 16 tie scores and seven lead changes in the middle frames.
 
With the all the drama and excitement of a rivalry matchup, the fifth set held not only bragging rights, but important WIAC placement points for both teams. As the teams traded points to start the fifth, Avery Pennekamp recorded four straight kills in the middle of the set to push UWEC to a 9-2 lead. MacKenzie Houser (Sr. – Pleasant Plains, Ill.) picked up one of her two service aces during the contest during the six-point run. Despite a contested net violation call at 10-14, the Blugolds sealed the tiebreaker win with a block from Darienne Andre and Bailey Leeke (So. – Lakeville, Minn./North) to earn their first WIAC victory of the year.
 
The Blugolds (6-5, WIAC 1-0) will take the weekend off before returning to WIAC play on Wednesday, September 27^th when they host UW-Platteville. UWEC will be holding a mental health awareness night on the evening of the match that is scheduled for 7 p.m.