The UW-Whitewater volleyball team, ranked eleventh in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25 poll, finished 3-0 at the UW-Whitewater Invitational Saturday. The Warhawks defeated Rockford College and second ranked Juniata Friday and followed up with a 3-1 (25-16, 27-29, 25-18, 25-21) win over sixteenth ranked UW-Eau Claire Saturday morning.

 

 

Tournament Schedule
Friday
UW-Whitewater defeats Rockford College 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-20) || Box Score || Photo Gallery: Photos for Sale (Photo credit: Tim Gumz)
UW-Eau Claire defeats Rockford College 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-16)
UW-Whitewater defeats Juniata College 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 19-25, 16-25, 15-12) || Box Score || Photo Gallery: Photos for Sale (Photo credit: Tim Gumz)

Saturday
UW-Whitewater vs. UW-Eau Claire || Box Score || Photo Gallery: Photos for Sale (Photo credit: Tim Gumz)
12:00 pm Juniata College defeats UW-Eau Claire 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 32-30, 25-20)
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UW-Whitewater vs. UW-Eau Claire Recap
UW-W led all the way through three of the four sets in the match. The Warhawks held Eau Claire to a .109 hitting percentage and posted 10 total team blocks (3 solo, 14 assist) in the contest.

Caitlin Hogan (New London/New London) led all players with 13 kills. Sofia Sanchez (Janesville/Craig) and Shaela Hayden (Harvard, IL/Harvard) pounded down 10 kills apiece. Middle blockers Katy Krajnak (Racine/Case) and Ariel Johnston (Rockford, IL/Guilford) took charge of the net recording three solo blocks and seven assist blocks between the two of them. Christina DeGroot (Kewaskum/Kewaskum) dished out 38 assists and added five service aces in the match. Four Warhawks recorded double figure digs including Alyssa Bauer (Naperville, IL/Central) with 24, Tricia Foldy (Muskego/) repeated her Friday's performance with 16, Hogan had 12 and Kelli Trautmann (Seymour/Little Chute) added 11.

UW-W improves to 18-5 this season. UW-EC falls to 14-4.

Whitewater will travel to UW-La Crosse Wednesday, October 13 for a scheduled start of 7:00 pm.

UW-Whitewater vs. Juniata Match Recap
UW-W forced an early Juniata timeout leading 7-3 in the first set. The Golden Eagles fought back to within two points, 19-17, but expended their second timeout after Katy Krajnak (Racine/Case) and Sofia Sanchez (Janesville/Craig) teamed up for an assist block and Krajnak followed with a kill to swing the momentum in favor of Whitewater. Krajnak knocked down two more kills out of the timeout to put UW-W at match point 24-16. Sanchez pounded down the set ending kill to give the Warhawks the 25-16 first set win.

Whitewater was trailing by as much as five points in set two before battling back to tie the set at 20-20. Another momentum swing in the guise of a Krajnak kill forced a late Juniata timeout with the Warhawks up 23-21. Caitlin Hogan (New London/New London) found the floor on two swings to score two of the last three points in set two as Whitewater went up 2-0 in the match.

Juniata led throughout the entire third set. The Warhawks brought the score to within one but the Golden Eagles would extend their lead and take set three 19-25.

Similar to set three, Whitewater trailed all the way through set four. Juniata was able to maintain the momentum and extend their lead to as much as nine multiple times in the set including the winning margin at 16-25.

The fifth set marked familiar territory for the Warhawks as four out of the last seven Whitewater matches went to the deciding set. UW-W led took an 8-5 lead at the turn. With the Warhawks leading 10-8, Juniata called its first timeout. A Golden Eagle error and kill by Warhawk Christina DeGroot (Kewaskum/Kewaskum) gave Whitewater a 12-8 lead forcing Juniata to expend its last timeout. Shaela Hayden (Harvard, IL/Harvard) and Ariel Johnston (Rockford, IL/Guilford) teamed up out of the timeout for an assist block and Johnston followed with a kill to force set and match point, 14-8. Juniata battled to make a 4-0 run despite two Whitewater timeouts. The Warhawks prevailed on a big swing from Hogan that found open court giving UW-W the set 15-12 and the match 3-2.

Whitewater improves to 17-5 this season. Juniata lost its second straight match to move to 18-3 overall. Friday's contest marked the first back-to-back loss during regular season play since 2001 for Juniata.

Hogan notched her eighth consecutive match with double figure kills recording 15 in the match. Krajnak pounded down 14 kills and added two assist blocks. Sanchez contributed ten kills and two assist blocks in the contest. Johnston posted a solo block, three assist blocks and nine kills the match. Defensively, teammates Alyssa Bauer (Naperville, IL/Central) and Tricia Foldy (Muskego/) combined for 48 digs. Bauer recorded her second highest dig total of the season with 32 and Foldy added 16.

UW-Whitewater vs. Rockford Match Recap
The Warhawks rolled to a 3-0 win over Rockford College in the first match of the UW-Whitewater Invitational.

Caitlin Hogan (New London/New London) and Katy Krajnak (Racine/Case) led UW-W with 12 kills apiece. Krajnak hit .688 with 12 kills in 16 attempts and just one error while adding a solo block and five assist blocks in three sets played. Hogan added three service aces in the match. Libero Alyssa Bauer (Naperville, IL/Central) notched her 30th consecutive match with double figure digs posting 12 in the contest.

Whitewater will face second ranked Juniata College at 7:00 pm Friday night in Kris Russell Arena.

For additional information: Stacy Boudreau