By Broderick P. Frye
Asst. Sports Information Director
Mount Vernon, Iowa -The No. 4 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team opened the NCAA Regional in Mount Vernon, Iowa with a 3-1 (25-15, 20-25, 25-12, 25-20) win over Coe College Thursday afternoon.
The Warhawks advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to face No. 14 Washington University-St. Louis Friday. That regional semifinal match is slated to start at 4:30 with the winner securing a spot in the regional final.
UWW won the battle of the Hawks for the second time this season. The Warhawks hit .204 in the match while holding the Kohawks to just .051.
After a back-and-forth start to the set, a huge 6-0 run with Jenna Weinfurt (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) at the service line set up UWW with set point and Ally Warburton (St. Charles, Ill./North) registered the final point with a kill.
Coe turned the tables in set two and used a late run of their own to even the match 1-1.
UW-Whitewater cruised in set three with a 6-0 burst with Weinfurt at the service line once again. That run gave the Warhawks a 12-4 advantage and they cruised the rest of the way for a 25-12 win.
Three consecutive UWW kills in set four extended the Warhawk lead to 15-10, but the Kohawks battled back. With a one-point advantage, 20-19, UW-Whitewater ran off three in a row to build a cushion. The final two points came on Coe miscues to send the Warhawks into the second round.
Weinfurt led all players with 16 kills adding three aces and 15 digs. Warburton posted 13 kills and Kirsten Anderson (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) rounded out the double digit kills contingent with 11. Aurbrie Krzus dished out 45 assists in the four-setter.
Defensively, Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) tallied 27 digs while Ally Longden (Pewaukee, Wis./Pewaukee) added 18 and Krzus posted 14. Abbie Dix (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) led the UWW blocking effort with four assist blocks.
WashU advanced to the second round with a 3-0 sweep of St. Olaf in their opening match. The Warhawks defeated the Bears earlier this season in a four-set match played in Whitewater.
