Eau Claire grinds out 3-1 win against Northwestern-St. Paul

Four Blugolds had double-digit kills

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Photo by Anna Mateffy

The UW- Eau Claire volleyball team took down University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.) last Tuesday on the road.

Before the match, head coach Kim Wudi said Northwestern-St. Paul is an impressive team, but when her team faced them to begin the season she thought they were beatable. The Blugolds lost 3-0 to the Eagles on Aug. 29.

“At this point of the season, we’re fighting for every win,” Wudi said. “We need to even our record with Northwestern because every game has playoff implications.”

After losing 3-0 to UW- Stevens Point six days earlier, the Blugolds defeated the Eagles 3-1 in a close match where no team won any set by more than seven points.

Eau Claire fell behind to the Eagles in the first set 25-19.

The Blugolds rebounded and won the next two sets by scores of 25-23 and 25-21. Eau Claire increased its hitting percentage from .184 in the first set to .361 and .375 in the second and third sets, respectively.

Up by two sets, the Blugolds held the Eagles to the fewest points scored in a set on the day, ending the match with a 25-18 win. Unlike the other sets, Northwestern-St. Paul committed eight errors and had a hitting percentage of .133, the lowest of either team during the match.

Sophomore Katrina Raskie led the team in kills with 17 and hit for .341 while junior Kelly Riesgraf led the team in hitting percentage with .600 and 16 kills. Seniors Alexis Wong had 13 kills and hit .480 and Megan Tracy hit .200 and had 12 kills.

The victory snapped Northwestern-St. Paul’s nine-game winning streak.

Eau Claire plays three times this weekend, with the first match set for 7 p.m. Friday at UW-Platteville. The Blugolds will play in the Elmhurst (Ill.) Invitational on Saturday.