Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team won both of its matches on the second day of the Rosalie Resch Invitational in Chicago. The Blugolds swept Lawrence University and Illinois Tech, each in three straight sets, at the Ratner Athletics Center.

In their opening match against Lawrence, UW-Eau Claire posted a .386 hitting percentage and recorded nine service aces. The team established an early lead in the first set after capitalizing on errors from Lawrence. Abby Stanwood contributed multiple kills, including a key point at 24-18 with an assist from Kaitlyn Erickson. Mya Cinnamo also added kills and blocks to help secure the first set, which ended 25-18.

The second set began with a kill by Bailey Leeke and a service ace from Alex Kiebel, giving UW-Eau Claire a 3-0 start. Leeke served three consecutive aces to push the score to 9-3. Despite some resistance from Lawrence, UW-Eau Claire maintained control for a 25-19 win.

Cinnamo opened the third set with a quick point assisted by Kiebel. Leeke continued her strong performance with more kills and another ace. After overcoming some service errors, UW-Eau Claire closed out the match when Lili Hagg secured the final point following a kill by Katie Mercure for another 25-19 victory.

Leeke led her team against Lawrence with five service aces, nine kills, and four digs. Stanwood tallied 11 kills on 18 attempts for a .444 hitting percentage. Norah Erickson added five kills at .500 efficiency while Kiebel finished with 14 assists and three aces. The Blugolds improved their record to 5-1; Lawrence moved to 6-2.

In their second contest against Illinois Tech, UW-Eau Claire hit .368 as a team with 39 kills and only seven errors while serving six aces during the match. The Blugolds gained an early advantage after Norah Erickson’s kill off an assist from Kiebel. Stanwood helped widen the gap as UW-Eau Claire built a lead and closed out the first set at 25-13.

During the second set, consistent play led to another victory at 25-17. Leeke and Erickson contributed multiple kills while Zettle served back-to-back aces. Kiebel provided key assists throughout this frame.

The third set saw early attacks from Stanwood and precise setting by Kiebel give UW-Eau Claire control. A stretch of points extended their lead to 8-4 before they finished out the match at 25-11 after Izzy Grace delivered the final kill.

Against Illinois Tech, Leeke had ten kills and nine digs with a .409 attack percentage; Stanwood had nine kills and eight digs along with one ace; Darienne Andre posted three kills on four attempts plus four blocks; Kiebel supplied fifteen assists and two aces.

With these results, UW-Eau Claire now holds an overall record of 6-1 as part of WIAC conference play while Illinois Tech is winless in NACC competition.

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