EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team hosted the first round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Regional Tournament on Thursday. With sellout crowd in the McPhee Gymnasium, the Blugolds swept the Greenville University Panthers 3-0 to move on to the semifinal.
Arianna Barrett (Sr. – Lakeville, MN/Stillwater) led UWEC with 11 kills in the evening and swung at a .280 hitting percentage. The opening set featured a back-and-forth game with 12 tie scores and four lead changes. Barrett gathered six of her 11 kills in the opening set and led UWEC to a 25-19 set win.
The second set held the same momentum as five different Blugolds had three kills each. The distribution from the setter Charlie Nelson (So. – Lakeville, MN/North) was everywhere as Nelson tallied 15 of her 43 assists in the middle frame.
The final set went the way of the home team as they capped off the first-round match with a 25-20 win. Makenzie Bachmann (Sr. – Chaska, MN) led with a set high four kills and finished the night with a double-double, 10 kills and 10 digs.
Taylor Scalia (Sr. – Lake Elmo, MN/Stillwater) recorded 15 digs and three service aces on the night.
The Blugolds will move on to the semifinal round of the regional when they take on Gustavus Adolphus College on Friday, November 13th at 7PM in McPhee.
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