Summer is nearing its end and fall sport athletes are starting to return to their routines from a year ago. Training has stayed prominent all year but zeroing in on their respective sport is heating up. Here in Whitewater, Wisconsin, knee pads are slid on, shoes are being tied, and volleyballs are getting pumped up. It is an exciting time of year for the purple and white as the Warhawk volleyball team is coming off of an impressive 2023 campaign with a record of 18-5. They made a trip to the third round of the NCAA Division III tournament last season, one win away from the tournament quarterfinals.

“We have quite a few returners,” Associate Head Coach Keith Scheckel said. “We’ve brought in some transfers as well. We’re just building off of that experience as a team and what everyone brings to it.”

New and returning players alike brought on a fiery spirit this offseason as well for Whitewater.

“We have had the most competitive practices over the last couple weeks,” said Head Coach Stacy Boudreau. “It’s really fun seeing that.”

The Warhawks are getting back the reigning WIAC offensive player of the year in outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt for her fifth season thanks to COVID eligibility. Coach Scheckel also pointed out sophomore setter Aubrie Krzus, last season’s WIAC newcomer of the year. 

“Those are the two that won these major conference awards. Those two are definitely exciting to have back for this year.” 

The team also brought in five new transfers in the off-season, led by junior outside hitter Chloe Werner from Division I Akron and graduate student outside hitter Alayna Jansky from Winthrop, graduate student defensive specialist Jaedynn Evans from the University of Central Oklahoma, and graduate student middle hitter Ava Rebarchik from Kentucky Wesleyan in Division II, to junior middle hitter Holly McDonald coming from Heartland Community College.

Coach Scheckel notes that they get transfers for many different reasons but the main couple being, “they’re interested in coming home or playing closer to home…or maybe it’s for a grad program too, which we have a few of.”

The transfers fit right in with the experience factor of this team early on in the preseason, which adds competition not only internally but also to the WIAC. The Warhawks are picked to finish second in the WIAC, which Coach Scheckel claims is “probably the strongest conference in the nation. We usually have three, four, even potentially five teams receiving votes in the top 25 so it is extremely tough from top to bottom. You can’t have an off night. No easy game on the road or at home. Some of these teams in our conference can easily go and win other conferences.”

Coach Stacy Boudreau, who is entering her twentieth season as head coach of the Warhawks, will lead the team including eight players using their last year of eligibility out of twenty roster spots. The Warhawks will lean on their strong veteran presence to help them throughout the season, as they are returning five starters from last season. 

However, the underclassmen are not to be left behind. 

“Everyone understands what is at stake. There are position battles at every position, which makes our [coaches’] lives very difficult. But every coach wants to have that issue or problem, so it’s exciting,” Coach Scheckel explained.

The gym is very competitive this year, and both Coach Scheckel and Coach Boudreau believe, “it’s the most competitive gym she might have in 20 years. It’s raising everyone’s game.” 

Coach Scheckel said it best when asked about the floor and ceiling of this team, “it doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or a freshman. Everyone’s coming in and putting their best foot forward. That’s what’s making this preseason so far, very, very strong and very exciting for our team.” 

Whitewater kicked off their 2024 campaign over the weekend at home winning all four games against Lake Forest College, Edgewood College, Augsburg University, and Knox College.

“I feel like we passed the ball really, really well,” Boudreau said. “Because of those amazing passes, we were able to run all three hitters (Weinfurt, Jansky and senior outside hitter Ally Warburton), isolate some blockers and score pretty efficiently.”

Volleyball heads to St. Paul, Minnesota for the UNW Invitational this weekend for a challenging three game stretch, taking on No. 12 Berry College, No. 23 Cornell (Iowa) and No .7 University of Northwestern (MN).

“Three top teams in one weekend is tough, so we as coaches try to prepare for all of them,” Boudreau said. “We really try to hone the team into that first component and what we’re going to do. Once that’s over, then we focus on the next opponent.”

Whitewater returns home against the Illinois Wesleyan Spartans Wednesday, September 11th. The Spartans come into the start of the season receiving votes in the Division III AVCA preseason poll.