The Blugolds finished their regular season with a perfect record in their conference. | Photo by Bill Hoepner, UWEC Athletics
The Blugolds finished their regular season with a perfect record in their conference. | Photo by Bill Hoepner, UWEC Athletics
The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team is headed into the regional round of the Division III volleyball tournament after finishing conference play undefeated.
The team ended the fifth set with a 3-2 victory over UW Platteville to obtain the perfect designation on Oct. 30.
This was the team’s second conference title in three years, with a season record of 27-3 and 7-0 in conference play.
Blugolds head coach Kim Wudi said the team was meeting the goals that it has set for itself in the preseason.
“I think we had some really lofty goals coming into the season,” she told WC Wisconsin News. “We wanted to play every single day with a sense of purpose and urgency and I think that we have done that. I am very, very proud of our team and what we have been able to accomplish so far.”
Wudi added that in order for the team to continue to have success they needed to keep playing error free.
“The biggest thing for us is that we want to score our own points,” she said. “That sounds really elementary, but in volleyball it’s often a game of mistakes and error management. For us, it’s making sure that we score our own points and that we are not giving up runs of points to the other team.”
Seniors Kendra Baierl, Makenzie Bachmann and Taylor Scalia have led the team the entire season, she said.
“I would say that their leadership has definitely been a big factor in our success, but I think the thing that is special about this team is that on any given night we can have somebody different leading us,” she said. “Whether that is our setter or one of our hitters, are libero — anybody at this point can carry our team and that is really exciting. Those three I would say are really the glue of our team and hold us together and contribute in all phases of the game really."
Charlie Nelson is a really dynamic player as well, she added.
The Blugolds will host Greenville (24-6) on Nov. 11 at the McPhee Center in the upcoming Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association tournament, at which they are currently the top seed.
“We are looking forward to playing one game at a time,” Wudi said. “We are playing at home so we are really excited to be hosting and hopefully we have a good turnout of fans and a lot of support from the community, as well.”
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