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EAU CLAIRE – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women’s volleyball team, which includes Columbus Catholic High School graduate Kendra Baierl, rolled through its first three matches in the NCAA Division III tournament this past weekend to move on to the Elite 8.
Eau Claire defeated Greenville (Ill.) 3-0, Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) 3-1, and Hope College (Mich.) 3-1 in regional matches held at home from Nov. 11-13.
The Blugolds swept Greenville 25-19, 25-19, 25-20, on Thursday, Nov. 11. Eau Claire had 10 blocks and held Greenville to a .061 hitting percentage. Baierl had 10 kills and four total blocks in the win.
Eau Claire beat Gustavus Adolphus 25-16, 25-16, 16-25, 25-16, on Friday, Nov. 12. Baierl again had 10 kills and five assisted blocks, hitting at a .692 percentage.
Against Hope, Eau Claire lost the first set 25-18 before sweeping the next three 25-22, 25-21, 25-12. Baierl finished with 13 kills and three block assists in the victory.
Fourth-seeded Eau Claire will take on No. 5 seed Tufts University (Mass.) at 3 p.m. Friday in the Elite 8 at Washington University in St. Louis. The Final Four will be held Saturday, with the championship match on Sunday.
Other Elite 8 matchups on Friday are No. 8 seed Massachusetts Institute of Technology vs. No. 1 Juniata (Pa.) at 12:30 p.m.; No. 2 Claremont Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) vs. No. 7 Berry College (Ga.) at 5:30 p.m.; and No. 3 Trinity (Texas) vs. No. 6 Calvin College (Mich.) at 8 p.m.
The Final 4 will be held Friday at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with the championship match Saturday at 7 p.m.
All of the matches this weekend will be live-streamed at ncaa.com.