By Evan Carlin

Oct. 7, 2015

The UW-Whitewater volleyball team tallied another win against nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point.  The ‘Hawks won the first two games 30-28, 25-23, then UWSP snuck in the box score with a 25-18 win.  The competition ended with a 25-21 Whitewater victory.

Junior outside hitter Lauren Pfiefer led the ’Hawks’ statistics with 18 kills, 13 digs and six blocks.  Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Racky and senior right side hitter Brittney Langley combined to post 29 kills, respectively, picking up the offensive slack.

It was a tight, back-and-forth battle between the two sides as neither team led by more than a three-point stretch.  The ’Hawks .419 hitting percentage prevailed as they managed to fight off two set points.  They continued to rally as they took four of the last five points to seal their first set win.

Pfiefer emphasized the importance of her team’s effort.

“It’s never really one person that is ‘impressive’ so to say when you have a win against a team that big,” Pfiefer said. “It’s all about us just playing for each other and playing together. This rivalry meant so much to all of us it was just us being a team and playing to win as a team.”

UWSP threatened with leads of 8-4, 16-12 and 19-15 in the second set, but the ’Hawks continued to hold its own, taking a 23-21 advantage on back-to-back kills by Pfeifer. The two teams alternated points from there, resulting in the Warhawks sealing another win.

UWSP started the third match strong, taking an early lead and never trailing.  They ended the match with three consecutive points.

In the fourth match, the ’Hawks trailed 12-10, but soon bounced back to lead 17-12.  The ’Hawks never gave up its late lead.  The ’Hawks were able to snap a four-game losing streak against the Pointers.

“I personally was very happy with how the game went, I know all the coaches and team were too. Getting a win is always exciting but having a win that big, with that much intensity feels even better,” Pfiefer said.

Pfiefer and company look to expand their win column in the coming week.

“Another game means a new team with an entire different strategy.  Concordia has a different game than Point so we are going to do what we do with any other team and do our scouting and come out with an aggressive attitude to win,” Pfiefer said.

The ’Hawks return to action in Russell Arena against Concordia (Wis.) Tuesday, Oct. 6.  The matchup is set to start at 7 p.m.