The Warhawk volleyball team, ranked fourteenth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll, fell 3-1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-16, 25-18) to #16 UW-Eau Claire in a semifinal match of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Friday night at McPhee Gym in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Box Score

UW-W was up 5-4 in set one when UW-Eau Claire went on a 10-0 run to make it 14-5. Another 8-4 Blugold run put the game out of reach for Whitewater. UW-EC only allowed Whitewater to put back-to-back points on the board two times after the first run. UW-W was held to less than 15 points in the first set for just the third time this season, matching the season low of 11 the Warhawks posted in the third set against the University of St. Thomas September 4.  Eau Claire hit .222 in the set, Whitewater .000.

Whitewater turned the table on the Blugolds in set two, jumping out to a quick 6-1 lead. UW-EC battled back to tie the game at 11, but the Warhawks quashed the momentum swing with another 7-2 run to take the lead 18-13. Once again the Blugolds responded, coming to within one 24-23. UW-W prevailed on the final point on a dump by setter Christina DeGroot (Kewaskum/Kewaskum).  Whitewater's hitting percentage jumped to .294 in set two.

In set three Eau Claire went up 8-3 to start and never looked back. The Blugolds only allowed Whitewater to score consecutive points three times as UW-EC closed out the set 25-16, with the Blugolds hitting .265 and UW-W .111.

In set four the teams traded points and found themselves tied 10-10.  The Blugolds broke out of the pattern with a 8-2 run to go up 18-12.  After a Whitewater timeout, UW-W scored four straight to close within 18-16, but that was followed by a 6-0 UW-EC run to set up set, and match, point.  UW-W delayed it with two points, making is 24-18, when the Blugolds closed it out.  UW-EC hit .289 and Whitewater .049.

The Warhawks were led by freshman Ariel Johnston (Rockford, IL/Guilford)'s nine kills and .368 hitting percentage. Sofia Sanchez (Janesville/Craig) posted 11 kills hitting .217 in the match. Caitlin Hogan (New London/New London) contributed eight kills and Katy Krajnak (Racine/Case) seven.  Hogan led UW-W with three assisted blocks, while Christina DeGroot (Kewaskum/Kewaskum) passed for 30 assists.  DeGroot also recorded two service aces, moving her just one shy of third place for aces in a season in the UW-W record book.  Alyssa Bauer (Naperville, IL/Central) topped Whitewater with 20 digs, moving her into sixth place on the school's list for digs in a season (624).  Bauer also added to her school record of 39 matches in her career with 20+ digs.

EC's Rachel Ver Voort led the way with 12 kills, hitting .375.  Liz Amici led all players with a .692 hitting percentage.  Amanda Lessner dished out 36 assists and had 15 digs for the Blugolds.

The Warhawks and Blugolds met two earlier this season, with UW-W winning 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-16, 30-28) September 17 in Eau Claire and 3-1 (25-16, 27-29, 25-18, 25-21) again in the Whitewater Invitational October 9.

Whitewater, tied for third in the WIAC regular season, went in to the WIAC Tournament as the number four seed (tie-breaker with Platteville).  The Warhawks defeated UW-Stevens Point 3-0 Tuesday to advance to the semifinal.  UW-W, 27-8 overall, will face UW-Oshkosh in the WIAC Tournament third place match at 12:00 Saturday in Eau Claire.  Oshkosh, which tied for the 2010 championship with Eau Claire but was the number two seed again by tiebreaker, is 24-12 overall and ranked 21st in the AVCA poll.  Eau Claire, 24-8, will play UW-Platteville, 30-3 and nineteenth in the AVCA III poll, for the WIAC Tournament title at 2:30 Saturday.  The winner of the league's postseason tournament, not the regular season champion, earns the league's automatic berth in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III championship tournament. 

For additional information: Stacy Boudreau, head coach