Successful Senior Night

Every year, the Warhawk volleyball team holds its senior night. Eight Warhawks played their final regular season match at Kris Russell Volleyball Arena on Wednesday night. Graduate students Jenna Weinfurt, Alayna Jansky, Jaedynn Evans, Ava Rebarchik, Hannah Proctor and seniors Payton Keupers, Ally Warburton and Ally Longden were all recognized pregame and given loud ovations for their time and effort poured into UW-Whitewater volleyball. 

“It’s been so different because we have so many [seniors]. It’s taken time for the team to figure it out, get our identity, and I think we are really getting to that point where it’s like, okay, we can do this. It’s fun,” head coach Stacy Boudreau said. “I think we have a lot of leadership and a lot of grit at the end of games. I think they really started to trust each other too.” 

The Warhawks have used their veteran presence as an advantage, leaning on the seniors who have been in a similar situation. In college athletics today, we see players transfer for many different reasons. Whitewater alone had five new transfers in the offseason. For three of the seniors, having great teammates around them has helped in the decision to stay at UW-Whitewater for all four years. Defensive specialist Ally Longden has seen the success the Warhawks have maintained and mentioned last year as a highlight in her Whitewater tenure. 

“Winning conference last year was really fun. It was a hard win because we were away but I think our team really came together and that was the best we played all year,” Longden said. 

Ally Warburton, an outside hitter for the Warhawks, looked at all four years as a whole. She emphasized the small memories made over a specific one.

“All the times being with the team, friends we’ve made, travel trips, stuff like that I’ve always loved,” Warburton said.

Right side Payton Keupers went back to their sophomore year, shining light on the past. But she wanted to mention the times spent off the court as well. 

“I’m going to say our sophomore year when we won both conference and the conference tournament. I’ll never forget the last point and it all happening. But honestly, I think the best moments were the traveling trips, getting food together at the restaurants, and sitting with people you don’t normally sit with,” Keupers said. “That’s when the bonding was happening with everyone and I loved those times.”

Reflecting on the season as a whole, Warburton said competitiveness consistently remained at an all-time high in the gym this season. 

“I think this is a very talented group of girls, just a very high level of play in our gym. Adjusting to that and being competitive for us, I think has been important,” Warburton said.

Keupers added on to her senior teammate, expanding on how this season just has a different feel to it.

“The work ethic has definitely increased as well. But overall, there’s good support amongst teammates. That’s what makes it special,” Keupers said. “And the fact that we didn’t know some of the people prior to coming in, I mean a lot of the same team we had last year and then just gaining a few people, it was easy for them to fit in because everyone got along so well already.”

Building culture and connections is a staple in Whitewater athletics. It allows teams to stick together and have each other’s backs when the postseason approaches. 

Gallery • 5 Photos

Ryan Halada

UW-Whitewater’s seniors and graduate students come together on senior night to celebrate one another. [Right to left: Senior defensive special Ally Longden (1), Proctor (6), Rebarchik (7), Evans (10), graduate student outside hitter Alayna Jansky (11), senior outside hitter Ally Warburton (15), graduate student outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt (17), Kuepers]

The Game

UW-Whitewater entered Wednesday night’s contest ranked No.7 according to the AVCA, and standing at third in the WIAC. UW-Platteville came in 10 spots behind at No. 17, fourth in the WIAC. Conference implications were on the line, both teams being 3-2 in conference play entering the match. The box score may say the Warhawks took care of the Pioneers, however, it was everything but that.

Whitewater swept the match, 3-0, backed by major contributions from some of those being honored on senior night. Jansky led the team with 14 kills, while Weinfurt clocked in 10 of her own. Evans and Weinfurt each had 9 digs on the night. The game was largely competitive, making for a back-and-forth affair. In set one, the first eight points were evenly exchanged, setting up the night to be exciting. Whitewater went on a run, leading by as many as 11 (22-11), before closing out the set 25-15. Set two saw Platteville propel themselves to a hot start, jumping ahead to a quick 8-4 lead. Whitewater battled back to tie the set at 14, carrying that momentum to a 25-20 win. The Pioneers made it interesting near the end, but the Warhawks came out on top. Going for the sweep in set three, Platteville refused to roll over. Whitewater came out scorching hot, going up 9-3 and eventually 18-10. Platteville made things complicated, however, going on a 13-2 run and taking a 23-20 lead in the process. The Warhawks recouped, tying the set at 23 a piece. Platteville went ahead 25-24 before the Warhawks finished strong, taking the final three points to sweep their WIAC rivals 27-25. 

The Warhawks home schedule is now complete, with matches at Elmhurst University and UW-Stout coming on Wednesday and Friday, respectively. With the WIAC tournament just around the corner, we may see these two once more come Nov. 12-16.