EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The UW-Stevens Point volleyball team (25-8) defeated UW-Eau Claire (20-9) in four sets at the WIAC Championship (presented by Culver's) to advance to Saturday's title match.
 
Senior April Gehl (Hilbert, Wis./Hilbert) followed up her WIAC Offensive Player of the Year honor with a double-double in the victory.  Her 20 kills gives her 593 on the season, breaking her own single-season school mark set last season.  She added a game-high 28 digs as well.
 
Junior Ellie Adams (Racine, Wis./William Horlick) also had a double-double with a game-high 47 assists and 11 digs.  Tara Emme (St. Nazianz, Wis./Valders) and Maddie Lawson (West Allis, Wis./Nathan Hale) added double-digit kills with 15 and 12, respectively.  Emma Peterson (Bloomington, Minn./Thomas Jefferson), Mazie Nagel (Stratford, Wis./Stratford) and Kelsie Belfiori (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) were also in double figures in digs with 21, 12 and 10.
 
The Pointers took advantage of eight UWEC attack errors and got kills six different players to open a 16-6 lead in the first set.  Gehl powered two late kills as the Pointers took the first set, 25-17.
 
Gehl started the second set with a kill and UWSP never trailed in the set.  She added six kills, including the new school record as the Pointers rolled to a 25-12 win and a 2-0 lead.
 
Kills by Lawson and Nagel gave UWSP a 2-1 lead, but the Blugolds used a 7-2 run to jump ahead 8-4.  A pair of kills late by Lawson kept UWSP close, but UWEC savaged the set with a 25-21 win.
 
Gehl and Hailey Jarr (Bloomer, Wis./Bloomer) each had two kills to erase an early deficit.  Emme added four kills in an 8-1 run as the Pointers leapfrogged into a 21-17 lead.  Lawson gave UWSP match point with a kill and Gehl closed out the win with a solo block for the 25-21 victory.
 
The Pointers travel to UW-Whitewater on Saturday (Nov. 9) for a 7:00 p.m. match.  The winner receives the WIAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.