UW-Whitewater's 2008 season came to a close Friday evening in the regional semifinal of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Championship Tournament with a 3-2 (25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 23-25, 15-8) loss to Carthage College at the Kolf Fieldhouse at UW-Oshkosh in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
box score
post match interview with head coach Stacy Boudreau (in the gym, noisy background)
photo gallery
UW-W NCAA volleyball tourney page
Carthage, 32-4, advances to the regional final Saturday at 7:00 in Oshkosh. Carthage will play the winner of Friday's second match between Heidelberg College, 31-7, and host UW-Oshkosh, 38-2. The regional winner will join seven other regional winners in the final eight at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois November 20-22.
Carthage led the entire first game, but UW-W cut what was an early (11-4) seven point lead down to three points three times in the middle of the game, finally to two, and then to one at 24-23 before running out of time. Carthage again took the lead in game two, jumping in front 5-1, 7-2 and 9-4. A 5-1 run by the Warhawks cut the margin to 10-9, but Carthage met that with its own streak up to 16-10 and their lead was never less than five the rest of the way. Game three started out the same way, Carthage in front 6-3. A 5-1 spurt by the Warhawks put them in front 10-8, a lead they held the rest of the way. The teams exchanged streaks, and the lead in game four. Carthage led 6-3, then Whitewater 10-8, then Carthage 13-11, then Whitewater 15-14. Unusual for this game, Carthage then went on a 6-0 run to lead 20-15, but Whitewater scored four to pull back within one. The Warhawks closed the match scoring four of the last five points to even the match at 2-2. In the decisive fifth game the lead changed hands five times before Carthage went up 10-8 and then rolled off the last five points to advance in the tourney.
Liz Benzschawel (Madison/Edgewood), one of two seniors on the roster, led the Warhawks with 14 kills and a .321 hitting percentage. Melissa Zuleger (Little Chute/Little Chute) added 12 kills and Caitlin Hogan (New London/New London) 10. Alyssa Bauer (Naperville, IL/Central) was credited with 34 digs, the seventh highest single match total in school history. UW-W finished with a season high 108 digs. Zulegar also contributed eight blocks (seven assisted), and Jillian Neave (Salem/Westosha Central) passed for 49 assists.
Carthage was led by Michelle Madeja's 14 kills, with Lauren Dembkowski adding 11. Katie Lundgren had 34 digs, and Cindy Cavanagh (seven block assists), Rachel Swoboda (one solo, six assists), and Jordan Burkholder (one solo, five assists) were strong at the net. Sarah Carlino chipped in with six service aces.
Carthage hit .191 and had seven service reception errors and six ball-handling errors. Whitewater hit .135 and had ten receptions errors and two ball-handling errors.
UW-W and Carthage had met twice previously this season, with Carthage winning 3-1 September 5 and by the same score October 31. Carthage was ranked tenth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll and UW-W was fifteenth.
UW-Whitewater ended the season 30-10. The Warhawks have reached thirty wins all four seasons under head coach Stacy Boudreau. UW-W was making its seventeenth consecutive NCAA III tournament appearance, and twenty-first since the school joined the NCAA in 1981. The Warhawk volleyball display case contains trophies from first place finishes in 2002 and 2005; runner-up trophies from 2000, 2001 and 2007; and three other top four finishes.
Junior, Melissa Zuleger (Little Chute/Little Chute), made the All-Tournament Team of the 2008 NCAA Oshkosh Volleyball Regional.
