The No. 11 UW-Whitewater volleyball team battled it out versus the No. 3 UW-Oshkosh Titans Wednesday, Oct. 29. While the Warhawks played with a lot of hustle they would eventually fall to the Titans in five sets.
UW-W won the opening set with efficient hitting and better serve-receive than their counterpart. The Warhawks used a 4-0 run early to open up a five-point lead. While UW-Oshkosh would rally to tie the set up, a late 6-1 Warhawk run gave UW-W a 22-15 lead that eventually led to the 25-19 final score.
Set two was all UW-O as the Titans jumped out to a commanding 11-2 lead and maintained that lead to take the set 25-14.
Set three ended up the most impressive and longest set for the Warhawks. After a back-and-forth start, UW-O pulled away with small runs to build a five-point advantage. UW-W trailed 23-20 before coming back to even the set 24-24. The Titans had their first opportunity to take the set at 30-29, but junior setter Aubrie Krzus tallied a kill to keep the Warhawks alive. Emma Bludgen had a perfectly placed serve in the back left corner for an ace to give UW-W a 31-30 lead, but once again the Titans were able to even the score. Senior middle hitter Abbie Dix hammered down a kill on the next rally to force another Warhawk set point and this time freshman outside hitter Kylee Altendorf delivered a kill from the outside to give UW-W set three and a 2-1 lead.
“We really trusted each other,” Krzus said. “Some people got thrown into different positions today and we did a great job.”
However UW-O dominated the fourth set 25-17. Another hard-fought set from the Warhawks kept set five close, but the Titans would go on to win the set 15-12, taking home a win.
“You saw that we wanted to fight and we were not going to go down easy,” Bludgen said.
While a loss is never the ideal result, head coach Stacy Boudreau was pleased with the overall effort she saw from the team.
“I love that my team came to play today. I think we pushed them. I think we challenged them,” Boudreau said. “We had opportunities to take that match.”
Gaby DiMotto paced the Warhawk offense with 13 kills while Dix added on 10 of her own. Krzus set up the UW-W hitters with 43 assists, adding three aces and four blocks in the contest.
One key characteristic that showed against UW-O was the perseverance of the team. This fight will be essential for the Warhawks as they approach the postseason.
“We just keep fighting and we’ll come out on top,” Bludgen said. “Just keep pushing through. Keep fighting. Don’t give up.”
The Warhawks have just one match left in the regular season as they head out to UW-Stevens Point Nov. 7. They are focused on ending the year strong and being ready for the postseason.
“Our potential is we can play with anybody and we can beat anybody,” Boudreau said. “Now it’s just getting over that hump.”
