EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – Minnesota Morris (14-10) was swept twice on Friday by a pair of schools from Wisconsin. The day started with a loss to Wisconsin-River Falls and ended with a loss to host Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Morris was unable to pick up their second victory over River Falls this season as they fell 23-25, 20-25, 25-27. The Cougars were held to just .113 attacking in the match with just
Abby Tietz reaching double digit kills. The defense racked up 54 digs but it was not enough to keep pace with the Falcons.
Marissa Ekness led the way with 14 digs; it was just the second match of the year that someone other than
Katie Reitsma led the team in digs.
The Cougars sprinted to a lead in the opening set and held a 20-13 lead over the Falcons. River Falls clawed back and pulled within one at 22-21 before tying it up at 23. The Falcons would go on to win 25-23.
Wisconsin-River Falls used the momentum from the comeback in set one to pounce on the Cougars early in set two. They pushed their lead to 20-12 before Morris pushed back. Morris closed the gap to four but could not get any closer, falling 25-20.
The third set was a back and forth contest. The set featured six ties and three lead changes. The Falcons gained some separation in the early going but Morris pulled within one at 15-14. River Falls pushed their lead back to three at 18-15 but Morris countered late in the set. The Cougars tied the set at 23 but could not overcome the Falcons, falling 27-25.
In the second match of the day, Wisconsin-Eau Claire beat Morris 19-25, 19-25, 18-25. The Morris offense was contained once again, hitting just .055 in the match. Tietz again led the way in kills, this time with nine.
Brooke Decker was held to just 19 assists on the night, her lowest total of the year.
Minnesota Morris stayed with the BluGolds in the first set, pushing them until late in the set. With the score 19-18 in favor of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Morris surrendered six of the final seven points in the set, losing 25-19.
It was fairly tight in set two as well but the BluGolds led from the opening point. Morris never led in the set and in the end Wisconsin-Eau Claire pulled away for a 25-19 win. The third set was all Eau Claire as they jumped out to a 20-7 lead and never looked back.
Tomorrow the Cougars will look to rebound against two other Wisconsin schools. Morris plays Wisconsin-Platteville at 10 a.m. and then follow with a match against Wisconsin-Stout at 2 p.m.
