The UW-Whitewater volleyball team has punched their ticket to Salem, Virginia after winning the NCAA Regional Championship. The Warhawks sweeping victory versus UW-Platteville Saturday, Nov. 23, sealed their seat in the quarterfinals, which will begin Dec. 4.
Whitewater was dominant throughout the weekend, and they seemed to play at a higher caliber as the tournament progressed. In round one they defeated Ohio Wesleyan University 3-0 (28-26, 25-14, 25-15). The opening set of the tournament was one of the only times all weekend that Whitewater struggled.
“After the first set we knew Ohio Wesleyan was here to put up a battle, it wasn’t just going to be an easy win for us,” sophomore middle hitter Abbie Dix said. “That really made us realize ‘oh we need to keep going, push hard, if we mess up shake it off and go onto the next ball.’”
After getting their feet steady under themselves, the Warhawks kept their foot on the gas for the rest of the weekend. Their hitting percentage average for the three matches was .262, and they left their best for last as they hit .337 in the regional championship match.
Outside hitter graduate student Alayna Jansky led the team with 29 kills during the regional. Many of those kills were assisted by sophomore setter Aubrie Krzus who totalled 94 assists across the three matches. Jansky and Krzus were named to the Whitewater Region All-Tournament team, along with Dix.
Following the first set against Ohio Wesleyan, Whitewater only allowed their opponents to score more than 20 points in a set two times. Both of those sets came in round two against UW-Eau Claire.
Getting out to strong and aggressive starts was a point of emphasis following the first set against Ohio Wesleyan, and particularly as they prepared for Eau Claire.
“I think I remember being very excited at the beginning of that game [against Eau Claie] so I think we did come out very aggressive. So, check, I think we did that,” head coach Stacy Boudreau said.
Whitewater was dominant in the first set against Eau Claire, from there the match became a tough battle of WIAC foes as the Warhawks came out with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-21) win. With that second round victory, the Warhawks were on a roll as they readied to face yet another conference foe. Whitewater, Eau Claire and Platteville all played in the Whitewater regional, while Oshkosh and Stevens Point were also active in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.
“It’s incredible being in one of the best conferences in the country in Division Three,” graduate student outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt said. “It just prepares you for this, as you can tell with five teams in the NCAA tournament. We kind of all helped each other get here, we play against each other all year and we all made it this far. That’s just a testament to how strong every single team in the conference is.”
As strong as Platteville was, they weren’t strong enough to break past UW-W’s blockers. In the regional championship match the Warhawks tallied their tournament-high of 15 blocks. Junior outside hitter Chloe Werner had 9 block assists in the title match while Dix, who was named Most Outstanding Player in the regional, squared up 8 block assists. Their blocking efforts held Platteville to a mere .085 hitting percentage.
“Our pins on both sides really do an amazing job setting that block,” Boudreau said. “Our two middles are so quick and they press and are very powerful. So it is hard to know as a hitter you are going to have four hands in your face, sometimes six as we did a little bit tonight, every single swing.”
During the weekend Whitewater’s blocking cemented its status as the strongest in the nation. The Warhawks averaged 4.83 blocks per set during the regional, well above their season average, which floats above 3 per set. That blocking prowess helped them hold each of their three opponents below .100 hitting percentage, on average their opponents hit .074 against them.
Whitewater defeated Platteville for the regional championship 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-19). It was fitting that the Warhawks sealed the regional championship with a block from Werner, Dix and Weinfurt.
“To end it on a solid block was so satisfying,” Werner said. “All of the hard work just paid off.”
The Warhawks, who have not lost since mid-October, will need to continue to work hard as they prepare for their Dec. 4 quarterfinal match.
