The UW-Eau Claire volleyball team dominated in their matches against Macalester College and Hamline University on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Hutton Fieldhouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota, according to Blugold Athletics.

Match against Macalester College

The Blugolds beat the Macalester Scots 3-0 on Saturday, according to Blugold Athletics.

“Macalester is a team that can play on a really high level and then also just kind of play up and down like a rollercoaster,” Coach Kim Wudi said. “We were really focused on playing our pace of the game, and I thought we did that really well.”

In the first set, the Blugolds won 25-16 against the Scots, according to Blugold Athletics.

Charlie Nelson, setter and third-year exercise science student said the team was very efficient in their scoring.

“I think we did a really good job playing efficiently and going one point at a time,” Nelson said.

The Blugolds defeated the Scots 25-12 in the second set, according to Blugold Athletics.

According to Blugold Athletics, the Blugolds beat the Scots 25-15 in the third set.

Match against Hamline University

The Blugolds defeated the Hamline Pipers 3-0 on Saturday, according to Blugold Athletics.

The Blugolds beat the Pipers 25-16 in the first set, according to Blugold Athletics.

“We played really well and went in with a very positive mindset, and just looking to take care of business,” Nelson said.

According to Blugold Athletics, the Blugolds won 25-19 in the second set and 25-18 in the third set against the Pipers.

Wudi said the team played consistently very well throughout the match against Hamline.

“We let them kind of come back into the second set a little bit,” Wudi said. “But I was proud of how we came back and won the set and then won the match in set three.”

End of conference play

There are three more matches left of conference play: 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25 against UW-Superior, 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct 28 against UW-Whitewater and 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29 against Concordia University Wisconsin, according to Blugold Athletics.

Then the Blugolds will play in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament, according to Blugolds Athletics.

“We have a lot of work to do to clean up some things we have been working on all season,” Wudi said. “But I’m also really excited for the opportunity to play with everybody healthy — hopefully — and just really kind of getting back after it.”

Nelson said she is excited for the WIAC tournament to start.

“I think we’re all really looking forward to it, we only have three regular season games left so we’re just going one game at a time,” Nelson said. “It’s always an exciting time just because the WIAC is such a competitive conference and we all get to play each other for a week.”

Wudi said the team is preparing for the WIAC tournament as they would any other match.

“We want to make sure we are the team that is the most prepared, that we’re also confident going in so working on things that maybe we had struggled with in a previous match and really just trying to feel like we’re at the top of our game going into the tournament,” Wudi said.

The Blugolds return to action to play the UW-Superior Yellowjackets at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Kasper can be reached at [email protected].