UWS Falls to Eau Claire

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

 
Eau Claire 3, Yellowjackets 0

Friday marked the WIAC conference opener for the Yellowjacket volleyball team, as they took on the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds with the hope of starting out the conference season on the right foot. Despite Eau Claire’s season-long struggles (a record of 8-9 coming into the match), the Blugolds were too much for the Yellowjackets. Eau Claire came to town and took care of Superior in three games, winning the match 3-0.

The Yellowjackets got off to a slow start in the opening minutes of the first set. Four early errors, including three in a row at one point had the Yellowjackets down 5-1 in the early going. Superior would begin to get things going and cut the Blugolds’ lead to 12-10, only to see the Blugolds rally off six straight points to move ahead 18-10 leading Yellowjacket Head Coach Lynne Deadrick to call a timeout. The timeout briefly stemmed the tide, but in the end the large deficit was too much to overcome and they went on to lose the first set, 25-15.

The second set was much more competitive between the two teams. Superior had a 9-8 lead when they regained serve and then tallied three straight points to take a 12-8 lead, forcing Eau Claire to take a timeout. The Yellowjackets’ lead would bounce between three and four points until the Blugolds marked four straight to even the score at 17-17. Jenna Smits broke the tie with a kill for the Blugolds, and they would go on to win the set 25-21.

The third set was the most exciting of the night for all the fans in attendance, including the Yellowjacket men’s hockey team, who did its best to get the crowd going. Eau Claire got off to a fast start, taking an early 6-2 lead. But Superior battled back to even the score at 6-6. Eau Claire would then take a 11-8 lead, only to see Superior tie it, again. Back and forth the two teams went before Superior took the lead late in the match, 20-19. A controversial out call late in the match might have been the difference between the Yellowjackets getting swept and possibly turning the match around. At 22-all, Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret’s) appeared to have hit the ball in, but it was ruled out by one of the line judges, giving Eau Claire the point and the lead. The Blugolds would quickly finish off the set, and, finally, the match, as they toppled Superior 25-22.

Notable performances on offense for the Yellowjackets came from senior Keely Deadrick (Esko, Minn./Esko), who had a match-high 29 assists and freshman Gabrielle Olson (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie), who had 10 kills. On defense the team was led by Chelsey Walerius (New Prague, Minn./Tri-City United) (16 digs), Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko) (13 digs), and Jordan Olson (Cohasset, Minn./Grand Rapids) (11 digs).

Eau Claire was led by Alexis Wong (match-high 11 kills), Jamie Dimka (match-high 18 digs) and Jenna Smits (25 assists).

Superior committed 28 errors to Eau Claire’s 13 throughout the match.

With the loss, the Yellowjackets fall to 7-12 overall and 0-1 in the WIAC. They will look to turn things around, tomorrow (September 27) as UW-Stevens Point comes to town for a 12:00 p.m. showdown at Mertz Mortorelli Gym. The match can be viewed live through the iFan Sports Network.