With the regular season wrapped up, the third-seeded UW-Whitewater volleyball team geared up for the 2024 WIAC Volleyball Tournament, searching for their third-consecutive title in one of Division III volleyball’s most competitive conferences. After starting the tournament at home with a sweep against sixth-seeded UW-Stout, the Warhawks took down second-seeded UW-Stevens Point and first-seeded UW-Oshkosh on the road to capture their third-consecutive WIAC title.
The Details
Whitewater came into the tournament following an impressive showing throughout the regular season, finishing with a 23-3 (5-2 WIAC) record. While their record speaks for itself, a number of their wins tell the true story.
Nine of Whitewater’s wins on the year came against ranked opponents, with three of the most impressive wins being 3-0 sweeps against No. 7 LaVerne, No. 15 Gustavus Adolphus and No. 17 UW-Platteville at home on senior night.
Two of their three losses are honorable – a loss on the road against conference foe No. 6 Oshkosh in five sets and a loss to No. 4 Hope College in four sets. Their final loss in the regular season, however, came against UW-Stevens Point.
At the time of the Oct. 16 match, the Pointers received votes in the Week 7 DIII AVCA rankings, whereas Whitewater ranked No. 5 in the country. Initially being down 2-1, the Pointers fought back and took down the Warhawks in five sets.
The Stats
The Warhawks offense boasted a litany of talent with the likes of graduate student outside hitters Alayna Jansky and Jenna Weinfurt. Together, the dynamic duo averaged 9.37 points per set (Jansky with 4.90 and Weinfurt with 4.47) through all games before Sunday, Nov. 12. Jansky’s efforts placed her at third in points per set in the WIAC, with Weinfurt right behind her at fourth.
On top of Jansky and Weinfurt, sophomore setter Aubrie Krzus filled her role perfectly, averaging 10.26 assists per set, standing at second-best in the WIAC.
As a collective, the Warhawks held the third-best hitting percentage in the nation, sitting at .292 behind Johns Hopkins’ .313 and Juanita’s nation-leading .318.
Where Whitewater excelled, however, came on the defensive end. The Warhawks lead the nation in blocks per set throughout a majority of the season, with sophomore middle hitter Abbie Dix and graduate student middle hitter Hannah Proctor ranking third and seventh, respectively. Dix averaged 1.43 blocks and Proctor tallied 1.30 blocks (as of Sunday, Nov. 10).
Another contributor to the Warhawk defense was graduate student libero Jaedynn Evans. Evans led the team in digs with 4.37 a set, placing her at fourth in the WIAC.
As a team, the Warhawks held their opponents to a WIAC-best .103 hitting percentage.
Opening Round vs No. 6 UW-Stout
Heading into their match, Whitewater and Stout faced off days prior in Menomonie, where the Warhawks came away with a sweep. The Blue Devils still kept it competitive throughout despite the loss (25-22, 25-18, 25-21). Stout finished the regular season at 13-12 overall and 3-4 in WIAC play.
Whitewater came prepared as they jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the first set, leading to a Stout timeout. In the midst of the early Warhawk run were four early kills from Weinfurt. A number of service errors from Whitewater kept Stout in the match, however, where the Blue Devils cut the lead to 14-7. The Warhawk defense held up, never allowing their lead to shrink below seven after the hot start and holding Stout to a 0% hit percentage. Ultimately, Whitewater came away with a win in the first set, 25-15.
Weinfurt ended the first set with 5 kills followed by Janksy with 4.
“I thought we came out very strong. I thought we served the ball really, really well, and we were able to get them out of system,” head coach Stacy Boudreau said. “I just thought our girls were in it…I feel like they really stepped up.”
Whitewater maintained their pace heading into the second set with an early 5-1 start. Stout chipped away at the Whitewater lead, however, bringing it to a 7-6 match.
Stout’s energy kept the Warhawks on their toes throughout, with Whitewater unable to build a comfortable lead like they had in the first set.
“They’re a great team. They’re really gritty. I think both sides had a really scrappy defense,” graduate student outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt said. “We were out of breath, huffing and puffing on both sides, I think, like 80% of the match.”
Eventually, the lead built early on by Whitewater lead them to a victory in set two, 25-16.
“Their defense is really good. They kept getting dig after dig on us, which is really frustrating as a hitter, but makes the overall game so much more fun,” Weinfurt said.
The third set started off tight, with Whitewater holding a 4-3 lead early. A quick response by the Warhawk offense found them on a 4-0 run to grow their lead 8-3, leading a Stout timeout. The Blue Devils never let their deficit grow too far out of hand, bringing it back to a 12-8 match. A late Stout run found them climbing back into the match and down only 24-20. Ultimately, Whitewater’s offense continued to tack on to their lead late, winning set three 25-20 and completing the sweep.
“We had a lot of good hustle plays that I saw that was really fun seeing like they get a good hit, and then we just dig it up, and then we would go back right at them,” Dix said.
The win over Stout sent the Warhawks to Stevens Point to continue their quest for their third-consecutive conference title.
“I think it’s super awesome just to have that culture and have that expectation already there for us,” Jansky said. “It’s pressure, but it’s good pressure. And I’m excited. I want to get there, and we all want to win. We’re on the same page.”
Semifinal at No. 2 UW-Stevens Point
The Warhawks lost to the Pointers in five sets at home earlier in the season, allowing them to clinch a first-round bye in the tournament.
“I think we’re going to be a little better prepared for playing them, and we’re just going to have to execute at a much higher level,” Boudreau said after the Stout game. “They’re a different team. They’ve got an outstanding outside hitter as well. We’re gonna have to make sure that our block is ready to try to take away their home court.”
Hitting the road this time, however, Whitewater came out victorious with a 3-0 sweep.
Though the Warhawks swept the Pointers, the final scores in each set were close (25-21, 25-22, 28-26).
Championship at No. 1 Oshkosh
The Warhawks found themselves in a similar position that they did a year ago: on the road against the first-seeded Oshkosh Titans for the conference title.
Both teams kept it close in the first set as the Titans led 13-11. After a kill from Oshkosh’s sophomore outside hitter Sami Perlberg, the Titans went on a 6-1 run to build their lead late, going up 19-12. Ultimately, Oshkosh took the first 25-20.
“I think we just kept telling each other in huddles, in timeouts, ‘Stay us, stay confident.’ We are gonna make mistakes, and that’s gonna happen, but then we would just forget them,” Weinfurt said. “We just kept turning to each other like, ‘We got this. We got it. Next point.’”
Set two saw an early back and forth between both teams with Oshkosh up 6-5. The Warhawks jettisoned the Titan lead by responding with a 6-1 run and finding themselves up 11-6. Oshkosh kept fighting to trim the Whitewater lead, but a 7-1 run late from the Warhawks secured a second set win for the Warhawks, winning 25-14.
The third set made for a textbook definition of a back-and-forth match. Neither team built a comfortable lead until Oshkosh found themselves up 17-13, but Whitewater responded with a 6-3 run to put them within a single point, 20-19. Ultimately, the Titans closed out the third set with a 5-1 run to win set three. Up 2-1, the Titans needed one more win to secure their first conference tournament win since 2008.
“After the third set, we just sat down, we talked. We said, ‘We just need to calm ourselves, don’t worry about yourself, believe in everyone out on the court, and we can do it,” Dix said.
Needing a win, Whitewater went into the fourth set to keep their hopes alive. Up 11-8, Whitewater held control of the set and continued to maintain their lead. Whitewater then went on their biggest run of the night by scoring eight straight to put themselves up 19-8. The Titans gave them a scare, however, only losing 25-18 and building a bit of momentum going into the fifth set.
Tied 2-2, both teams continued their back-and-forth affair heading into the final set. A Weinfurt kill put the Warhawks on top, 7-6, before Oshkosh responded by going up 11-8 against Whitewater. After an attack error by Oshkosh’s graduate student outside hitter Riley Kindt, Weinfurt stepped up to serve for the Warhawks and placed them in position to take over. With Weinfurt serving, the Warhawks scored five-straight points to find themselves in prime position to win the match up 14-11 over Oshkosh. A kill by Dix secured the win for the Warhawks in the fifth set, 15-12.
“I’m a little speechless right now, because I’m just so proud of my team,” Weinfurt said. “It was just so amazing to pull that out after knowing that both sides were giving their all and to be the one on top. It’s the best feeling ever.”
Weinfurt’s play on the court bled into the hearts of the team and propelled them over the Titans.
“When one of your leaders is doing that, I think it is just contagious,” Boudreau said. “ I thought she played very tough. I thought back behind the service line, hitting all those serves to win us the game…I thought she was great.”
Whitewater finished the match with a program-record 21 blocks en route to winning their third-consecutive WIAC Volleyball Tournament. The Warhawks have appeared in the last 11 conference title games, now winning five of them (2015, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024).
“It was awesome. I’m so happy for our players,” Boudreau said. “I think all of this week, (the) big matches that we played, I think (were) just really good confidence builders. We know that we have a good squad, and it’s just nice to be able to go out on the court and to win and to win in a tough situation.”
With the tournament win, the Warhawks clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA regionals beginning Thursday, Nov. 21. Last season, the Warhawks advanced to the round-of-sixteen before losing to Northwestern (Minnesota) in the 2023 NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament.
