The UW-Eau Claire volleyball team lost to St. Thomas (Minn.) in the championship game of the Augsburg Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 6.

The Blugolds won the first two games of the match but were unable to put away the Tommies, eventually losing 2-3.

“Those first two games showed that they are beatable and that we should be beating them because we’re a better team,” senior Emily Haese said in an interview following the Sept. 6 loss in the Augsburg Tournament.

Unfortunately, the Blugolds were unable to show the Tommies that they were better.

The losing streak continued Tuesday night as the Blugolds were swept in three games, increasing the streak to six straight losses against St. Thomas.

“We knew it was going to be a fight . it just didn’t go our way at all,” junior Lindsey Smith said.

In the first game, the Blugolds were in position to win with a 25-24 lead. Because the rules require games to be won by at least two points, the game continued and the Blugolds eventually lost, 25-27. The rest of the games remained close. Game two was decided by only six points, and the difference in game three was only three points.

“We came out ready to play the first game, but after we lost, we didn’t get that drive back,” senior Abby Freiborg said.

Senior Katie Fox’s six kills made her the team leader in the category. However, the Blugolds’ kill total was significantly lower than that of St. Thomas. The 46 kills recorded by St. Thomas were nearly twice as many as the Blugolds, who recorded only 25 in the match. The Blugolds did, however, record more service aces and blocks, with seven of each.

“We blocked very well that night, and we shut down a couple of their hitters,” Smith said. “We just couldn’t convert our digs into an offense.”

The Blugolds will play their first home match this weekend when UW-Oshkosh arrives on Saturday.

“It has been a long month on the road,” Freiborg said. “We’re all very ready to be on our home court and on our new floors. It’s going to be a fun game.”

The match, which will be senior day for the Blugolds, is the third Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) match for the Blugolds this season.

In their previous two WIAC matches the Blugolds won in five games. Against UW-La Crosse on Sept. 19, and against UW-Platteville on Sept. 20, the Blugolds came away victorious.

“Right now, we’re 2-0 in the conference,” Freiborg said. “That is what we need to worry about; we can’t worry about our overall record.”