The UW-Whitewater Women’s Volleyball team entered into a busy weekend with their fourth UW-Whitewater Invite of the season. Their first game on Friday against Carthage College proved to be an impressive win for the Warhawks, putting up sweeping scores including 25-11 in the first set, 25-11 in the second, and 25-18 in the third.

“I thought we played really, really well against Carthage. It was us going out aggressively, reading their offense, and seeing what they were going to give us,” said head coach Stacy Boudreau. 

The Warhawks work together before each game to prepare for a solid mental headspace to allow for the best performance. Leading up to the next game of Friday night against Gustavus Adolphus College, the Warhawks were locking in. 

“We approach most of our games as a team, we know what we are going to do in the controllables. We did a quick scout in between and then had to get back out there, and just tried to do what we could do,” said senior outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt. 

The second match of Friday night was more of a high pressure situation for the Warhawks, as they entered into a tight fourth set of the game.

“We had a great first two sets and then they got up on us a little bit early in set three, but I think we stayed confident and we kind of dug ourselves out of it. Going into the fourth set, just getting back that confidence, and staying aggressive helps in those situations,” Boudreau said. 

While on the court, dealing with a high pressure situation as a team is very crucial to the game. 

“We have some freshmen on the court, and we have some fifth years on the court. I think that throughout the season, we’ve learned to really calm each other down. We are able to pull each other out really well, forget mistakes and move on,” Weinfurt said. 

The outcome of the game favored the Warhawks, as they won 25-16 in the first, 25-15 in the second, lost 25-27 in the third, and won again 25-20 in the fourth.

Some standout performances were made this weekend for the Warhawks, as libero Morgan Jensen reached her 2,000th career dig. This is an achievement that only six others have accomplished in Whitewater history. 

Kirsten Anderson also put up 11 blocks during the second match of the weekend, which will impress the record books. 

After Saturday’s games, the volleyball team had a big Sunday game to prepare for. 

“I would tell the whole team to go home, eat some food, and go to sleep immediately. Then we can wake up tomorrow refreshed and you know, come back,” Weinfurt said. 

The Warhawks took their own advice and came back stronger than ever in Sunday’s game against University of Dubuque, pulling off sweeping scores of 25-9, 25-10, and 25-17.

Looking ahead, Whitewater will play Concordia University, Oct. 17, at home. 

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