EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – The Carleton volleyball team fell in straight sets to Lakeland University and UW-Eau Claire to cap off the UW-Eau Claire Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament on Saturday.  The Knights drop to 2-8 on the year and will host the Carleton/St. Olaf Invitational next weekend.
 
Match 1 – Carleton 0, Lakeland 3
 
Carleton jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in the opening set of its first match on Saturday against Lakeland.  The Muskies responded with a 6-1 run to take an 8-6 lead before the Knights scored three straight to regain the lead 9-8.  Lakeland then used a 5-1 run to take a 13-10 lead and never looked back on the way to a 25-21 win.
 
Leading 12-9 midway through the second set, Lakeland went on to close the frame on a 13-3 run and close it out 25-12 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  The Muskies jumped out to an 13-6 lead in the third.  Carleton came roaring back with five straight points to narrow the difference to 13-11.  The Knights came as close as one (16-15), but Lakeland finished off the set with a 9-3 run to take it 25-18 and the match 3-0.
 
Junior Rachel Bingham led the offensive attack for the Knights with nine kills in the match.  Fellow junior Megan Smith put up 13 assists and six digs, while Madeleine Dimitre posted seven digs.
 
Match 2 – Carleton 0, UW-Eau Claire 3
 
Carleton bolted out to an early 8-3 lead in the opening set of match two.  That lead extended to 13-7 and the Knights were off and running.  But UW-Eau Claire stormed back with a 15-3 run that flipped the script and gave the home team a 22-16 lead.  The run proved to be too much to overcome as the Blugolds held on to win 25-20 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
Tied 9-9 in the early going of the second set, the Blugolds used a 5-1 run and later a 6-1 run to pull away and take the set 25-16.  They continued that momentum into the third set, jumping out to an early 9-3 lead.  That lead became 15-6 and eventually 23-10 before the Knights rattled off six straight.  But the deficit was too much to overcome as the home team closed out the sweep with a 25-18 win.
 
Senior Sylvia Dixon posted five kills and six digs in the match.  Megan Smith tallied just seven assists and the Carleton offense was stymied in the loss.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton will return home for its next match as the Knights host the Carleton/St. Olaf Invitational next weekend.  They will take on the University of Minnesota Morris on Friday night before squaring off with the University of Chicago and the University of Dubuque on Saturday at West Gym.