Women’s volleyball dominates four match week

The+Warhawks+huddle+before+preparing+for+their+match+against+Elmhurst+College+%28Ill.%29+Sept.+11.+Whitewater+defeated+the+Blue+Jays+in+three+consecutive+games+25-16%2C+25-15+and+27-25.+

Louis Thompson

The Warhawks huddle before preparing for their match against Elmhurst College (Ill.) Sept. 11. Whitewater defeated the Blue Jays in three consecutive games 25-16, 25-15 and 27-25.

Erika Marion, Assistant Sports Editor

The women’s volleyball team played four games throughout the week of Sept. 10 and  showed nothing but success. The Warhawks won all four of their games in a five-day span, and plan to continue this winning streak in upcoming games.

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater hosted Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Tuesday night, played away against Carthage College on Wednesday, hosted St. Norbert College on Friday and took on Wartburg College (Iowa) in Iowa on Saturday.

In the first match against Elmhurst, the Warhawks swept 25-16, 25-15, 27-25. In the second match, the Warhawks battled into a five-game set, but came out on top winning 25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 15-25, 15-10. In the third match against St. Norbert, the Warhawks swept the Green Knights 25-16, 25-13, 25-17.

Senior libero Brittany Robinson led the back row with 21 digs against Elmhurst.

“The past three wins have felt great,” Robinson said. “We are finally getting in our groove and starting to play up to our potential as long as we stick to our game plan, stay focused and stay confident in our abilities, we’ll be tough to beat.”

In the second match against Carthage, junior middle hitter Ashton Doll put together an impressive nine blocks and 10 kills.

“We have had some tough opponents, but the way we pushed through them so well as a team really represents how the season is going so far,” Robinson said.

The Warhawks dominated the third match against St. Norbert. Whitewater as a team hit .348 for the evening and held St. Norbert to a .114

photo by Louis Thompson / Staff Photographer

hitting percentage.

Freshman outside hitter Erin McNeil led the team with 10 kills, and freshmen setters KellyAnn Sotiros and Paige Manssen each contributed two aces.

“The freshmen have been playing a huge role in our wins in every game so far,” said junior middle hitter Ashton Doll. “With them, I think it really pushes us over the competition.”

Junior outside hitter Rachel Butterfield noted that the series of wins gives the team confidence as it heads to WIAC play.

“Winning the last three has been a great way to lead up to our conference play starting next week, so it has been a lot of fun seeing things come together for our team,” said junior outside hitter Rachel Butterfield.

The Warhawks then traveled to La Crosse to play Wartburg on Saturday afternoon. They won their fourth straight match in a row this week with a final score of 25-21, 25-15, 20-25, 25-20.

“I think our team has been doing a great job of executing our game plans,” Butterfield said. “Following that has helped us be pretty consistent throughout each match.”

The Warhawks will start conference play Sept. 19 on the road against UW-Stevens Point.