Libero Jaedynn Evans digs a ball against UW-Eau Claire Friday night (Olivia Zinanni)
Box Score | The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team swept UW-Eau Claire 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-11) on the team’s annual Dig Panici Night in Russell Arena Friday.
The nation’s top blocking team registered a hefty advantage at the net with 12 total blocks in the match compared to just three for the Blugolds. Hannah Proctor and Abbie Dix, the Warhawk middles, combined for a solo and ten block assists. Setter Aubrie Krzus turned away seven UWEC attack attempts with a solo and six assist blocks in the match.
UW-Whitewater jumped out to early leads in each of the three sets. In the closest set of the evening, the Blugolds were able to pull within one, 22-21, but the Warhawks grabbed the next two points on UWEC miscues to push set point. Alayna Jansky hammered down a kill for the 25-22 set two victory.
Jansky put the finishing touches on the match in the third. On match point, a tough UWEC serve went to Jansky. Krzus was able to push the difficult pass back to Jansky on the outside off of the net. Her roll shot hit the tape and sneaked over the net and down to the floor for the final point of the match.
Dix and Jansky shared team-high honors with nine kills each. Jansky hit .348 in the match with just one attack error. Fellow outside Jenna Weinfurt pounded down seven kills.
Krzus tallied 26 assists and added 4 kills to her 7-block night. Jansky also led UWW in digs with 15 followed by 14 from libero Jaedynn Evans.
Each year, the UW-Whitewater honors former Warhawk Lisa Panici with the annual Dig Panici Night. Lisa was an integral part of the team from the moment she set foot on campus. Sadly, she was diagnosed with brain cancer her freshman year and lost a two-year battle with the disease in 2012. To read more about Lisa and her story click here.
