By Andrea Sidlauskas
The second time was the charm for the Warhawks women’s volleyball team. After posting a 2-2 record for their first invite, the ’Hawks were determined to prove themselves this past weekend.
The ’Hawks hosted their second invitational this season, sweeping Wisconsin Lutheran and defeating Millikan on Friday to begin the invite, then followed up with a win over Bethel University and Northwestern on Saturday.
Top performers of Friday’s matches included freshman Lauren Pfeifer, who led all hitters in the first match with 11 kills and a .500 attack percentage; junior Kim Frei, who totaled 72 assists for the night; and junior Kelsey Nobilio, who led the ’Hawks in digs with 19.
“I was feeling really nervous,” Pfeifer said. “My teammates made me feel really comfortable, and I feel that, through their support, I did the best that I could. I did what I needed to do.”
The ’Hawks dominated Wisconsin Lutheran, 3-0, and outhit Millikan 58-42 in kills, defeating them 3-1 to cap the night. The ’Hawks continued their success Saturday, as Frei posted 18 digs to accompany her 45 assists, junior Kristin Ruchti led all players with six blocks, and junior Ariel Feiertag led all hitters with 11 kills.
“I’m very happy with the way that we played,” head coach Stacy Boudreau said. “We’re still making some mistakes, but we’re lessening them with every match. We are definitely improving and getting to be closer to where we want.”
Saturday’s match against Bethel University was the third consecutive game for Feiertag to accomplish double-digit kills, while Nobilio increased her dig count to more than 200 on the season. The ’Hawks swept Bethel, 3-0, and defeated Northwestern University, 3-1, to boast a 4-0 record for the invite.
Pfeifer commends the ’Hawks’ defense as the basis of their success throughout the invitational.
“We let very minimal balls hit the floor, and our blocking was the best it’s been all year so far,” she said. “All this momentum has just been building up, and we let it explode this weekend and showed that we’re ready to keep doing what we do.”
The ’Hawks, ranked No. 19, are riding a six-game winning streak and improved their record to 11-3 this season. They will utilize this momentum as they begin Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Sept. 18 against La Crosse.
“What we’re going to be focusing on is each conference match and trying to play our best match against that team and taking it one match at a time,” Boudreau said. “I think we have a lot of talent, I think we have a lot of potential, I think we are a very deep team, and I think we can be a very strong team.”
