By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Mount Vernon, Iowa — The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team swept Washington University-St. Louis 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-18) in the second round of NCAA regional play Friday evening in Mount Vernon, Iowa. With the victory, the Warhawks earn a spot in the regional final for the second consecutive season.
UWW will play the winner of Northwestern (MN) and host Cornell College in the regional championship at 5 p.m. Saturday. The UNW/CC match is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday. Editor’s note: Northwestern (MN) beat Cornell 3-2, so UWW will face No. 1 seed and fifth-ranked Northwestern in the regional final.
The Warhawks were efficient hitting .237 in the match while the UWW defense held the Bears to just .080 attacking.
WashU had a 7-6 lead in the first set when a 3-0 run for the Warhawks gave UWW a 9-7 lead. Although the Bears came back to tie the set 18-18, UW-Whitewater never trailed the rest of the set. From that even point, UWW scored seven of the next eight to pick up the first set win.
An early 5-0 run in the second gave UWW an 8-3 advantage and the Warhawks never looked back. Jenna Weinfurt (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) put the finishing touch on the set with a kill for the final point.
In the third, UW-Whitewater strung together a run of six to jump out to a 10-3 lead. Another five-point run mid-set widened the gap to 17-9 and all but sealed the set and match. Ally Warburton (St. Charles, Ill./North) hammered down a kill for match point and a Bear miscue sealed the win for UWW.
Kirsten Anderson (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) led the Warhawks with 13 kills in 26 attempts while committing just a single error. Warburton joined Anderson in double figures with 11 kills.
The nation’s top blocking team posted 10 total blocks led by a solo and five assists from Abbie Dix (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead). Aubrie Krzus (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South) added a solo and four assists while dishing out 30 assists in the match.
In the backcourt, Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) registered 22 digs. Krzus posted 14 and Weinfurt added 13.
