UW-Eau Claire 3, Yellowjackets 0
Box Score
Senior night for the Yellowjackets did not pan out for the three seniors as they wished it would. Seniors Farrah Wirtz (Esko, Minn./Esko), Salann Gilbert (Solon Springs, Wis./Solon Springs) and Nikki Gosson (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) celebrated finishing their strong careers as Yellowjackets tonight. The Yellowjackets dropped three straight sets to the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds here at The Mertz.
The Yellowjackets fell in the first set 25-19 to the Blugolds even though the Yellowjackets scored the first three points in the set. It was a back and forth match and eventually the Blugolds took control late. The Blugolds scored the last three points to put the Yellowjackets down one set. Each team had a total of 41 digs to total the match. Kitty Tynen (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater) had a total of six digs, while Farrah Wirtz (Esko, Minn./Esko) led the jackets with nine. Defensive errors at the net and hitting errors haunted the Yellowjackets throughout the match.
The second set had the same feeling as the Yellowjackets scored the first two points, but eventually the Blugolds evened everything out and really took control late in the set. The Blugolds scored the last three points of the set. This was the Yellowjackets most promising set scoring 20 points. Nikki Gosson (Mankato, Minn./Mankato East) had eight kills and Jessica Dvergsten (Greenbush, Minn./Greenbush-Middle River) had six. Mean while Vikki Vinikor led the Yellowjackets with nine total kills. Lauren Peterson (Deer River, Minn./Deer River) scored her first career Yellowjackets kill tonight also. The Yellowjackets dropped the 2nd set 25-20. Being down two sets to zero the Yellowjackets had their backs to the wall, but kept the fight going for the crowd of 200 plus.
The third and final set of the match had the Blugolds running away, but the fighting Yellowjackets fought back. Being down 7-14 the Yellowjackets put small rallies together to get as close as 19-20 but the Blugolds hitters were just too much for the Yellowjackets this evening. The final set was 25-19 as the Blugolds swept the Yellowjackets at The Mertz 3-0.
The Yellowjackets (16-10, 0-5 WIAC) next matches will be at the UW-La-Crosse tournament this Friday October 12th. This was the final home game for the Yellowjackets until the 2013 season.
