By Angela Kelm
Asst. Athletic Director for Sports Information
Whitewater, Wis. — The No. 6 UW-Whitewater volleyball team secured their spot in the regional championship match for the third consecutive season Friday night. The Warhawks swept league-foe UW-Eau Claire 3-0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-21) to advance to the title match.
The regional championship will be another Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown as UW-Platteville took down Washington University in St. Louis in the first match Friday to advance. The Pioneers will make their second appearance in the regional championship in program history while the Warhawks will make their seventh under Head Coach Stacy Boudreau as the teams square off Saturday at 5 PM in Russell Arena. The first 100 UW-Whitewater students (with ID) will get in free to tomorrow evening’s regional championship match. Doors open at 4 PM.
The Warhawks were dominant early in Friday’s match against the Blugolds. Like much of the season, the UWW block provided a huge advantage for the Warhawks and continuously swayed momentum in Whitewater’s favor.
A six-point run for UWW midset gave the Warhawks a 17-9 lead. Three blocks bolstered that run and led to a lopsided first set win.
UW-Whitewater jumped out to a 7-1 lead in set two, but the Blugolds whittled away at the margin making it a battle late. UW-Eau Claire rattled off four in a row to knot the set at 21-21. The squads traded points with ties at 22-22 and 23-23. A Blugold service error gave UWW set point. Aubrie Krzus registered one of her six kills to cap the set and give UW-Whitewater a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Blugolds held an early lead in set three until a four-point run for UWW gave the Warhawks a 20-17 advantage. The last three points of that run came on blocks for UWW – Chloe Werner and Abbie Dix tallied the bookend blocks while Dix teamed with Jenna Weinfurt for the second of the run.
A few points later, with UWW leading 22-19, Dix and Krzus turned away a Blugold attack attempt. The defensive powerhouses at the net made it back-to-back blocks on the next rally for match point. UWEC pushed for an additional match point before Alayna Jansky punched UW-Whitewater ticket to the title match with a kill.
Janky led UWW offensively with nine kills. Defense was the difference as Dix posted nine blocks in the contest. Krzus added five blocks to her six kills without an attack error and 26 assists. Werner registered four blocks, a mark that Weinfurt matched.
Jaedynn Evans posted 19 digs with Ally Longden adding 13. At the service line, Weinfurt and Emma Bludgen each tallied a pair of aces.
