The UW-Whitewater volleyball team entered the WIAC tournament as the No. 4 seed after a regular season where they went 24-6 overall and 3-4 in the WIAC. The Warhawks would open the tournament against No. 5 seed UW-Stevens Point.
On a night when the stakes were high and the energy in Kris Russell Arena was electric, UW-W didn’t just survive, they stormed their way into the WIAC semifinals. Behind a commanding sweep of UW-Stevens Point, the Warhawks looked every bit like a team refusing to let its season slow down.
Senior outside hitter Emma Bludgen said the energy hit them the moment they stepped on the court.
“We were excited to come out here and play at home again,” Bludgen said. “We came out swinging and fighting because we knew that we wanted to keep playing and move on.”
With a team that was retooling itself after losing some key players from their national champion runner-up team, there were instances throughout the season where the Warhawks didn’t play up to their standards. That was not the case against the Pointers. Head coach Stacy Boudreau could tell from the locker room that the team was locked in and ready to go.
“They were ready to play,” Boudreau said. “Sometimes we win and feel like maybe we left something out there, but tonight they earned this with their effort, their execution and their energy.”
the WIAC tournament at Kris Russell Arena located in the Williams Center. (Fleuretta Phipps)
The match itself unfolded with a showcase of Whitewater’s resilience. After Stevens Point struck first with an early burst in the opening set, the Warhawks responded with a run of their own before flipping the entire frame with a furious closing push, taking 12 of the last 14 points for a 25-20 win. The second set featured the same aggressive tempo, two mid set runs and a six point finishing streak that pushed Whitewater ahead 2-0. In the final set, Stevens Point clung to a narrow lead until the Warhawks cracked it open at 13-13 and surged ahead with a five-point run that sealed the sweep, 25-22.
Junior middle Abbie Dix dominated the stat sheet, crushing 13 kills and stacking eight blocks, while fellow middle Amanda Hillmann delivered a near perfect performance with six kills on eight swings. Setter Aubrie Krzus steered the offense with 33 assists and four blocks, and defensive specialist Natalie Lawton cleaned up the back row with 16 digs. The Warhawks finished with 47 kills, ten blocks and a .283 hitting percentage. Numbers that reflected complete control.
Boudreau said the offense, in particular, showed major strides.
“That’s an area we’ve been struggling in, and tonight we were firing on all cylinders,” Boudreau said. “Aubrie was dishing it out to everybody, and everybody was ready to put that ball away, including Aubrie.”
A key component to that offense firing on all cylinders is that the team was prepared and ready to leave it all on the court. It was not six individual players, rather one complete unit.
“I’m most proud of our togetherness today,” junior outside hitter Emily Lego said. “The chemistry. We communicated so well.”
With their sweep of Stevens Point, the Warhawks moved on to the WIAC semifinals, where they faced No. 1 seed UW-Oshkosh.
The Warhawks would keep the first two sets close, but lost each one by two points. The second set was especially painful, as UW-W held a 23-20 lead before a five point run from the Titans to win set two 25-23 and put the Warhawks in a 2-0 deficit. It seemed like dropping set two demoralized the Warhawks as UW-Oshkosh jumped out to a quick 14-7 lead in set three. The Titans remained in control the rest of the way, winning set three 25-19 and sweeping the Warhawks.
“All of our conference games are high intensity,” Bludgen said. “We’ve been prepared all season, it’s just putting together the things we’ve worked on.”
The Warhawks turn their attention to the NCAA selection show Nov. 17 at 12 p.m. to see if their season will continue. In the meantime they’ll be doing substantial self-scouting to ensure that they’re prepared.
“It’s a lot of scouting, we’ll look at what worked and what didn’t,” Boudreau said. “We’ve made a lot of memories this season and now we’ll go make more.”
