The Warhawk volleyball team, ranked twenty-second in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, split matches in the last day of competition in the UW-Whitewater Invitational. UW-W fell to tenth ranked Carthage 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 18-25, 25-23) and bounced back with a 3-2 (25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 16-25, 15-10) win over Wartburg. Whitewater went 2-1 in the invitational, the other win from Friday night's 3-0 sweep of fourth ranked Wittenberg University, and improves to 20-7 overall.

Match Schedule
Friday, October 21
5:00 pm Carthage defeated UW-Oshkosh 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-22)
7:00 pm Carthage defeated Wartburg 3-1 (25-27, 25-23, 25-22, 25-17)
             UW-Whitewater defeated Wittenberg 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 27-25)  
                          |Box Score| |Photo Gallery (courtesy of Andrew Smith, all photos are for sale|

Saturday, October 22
10:00 am Wittenberg defeated UW-Oshkosh 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-20)
                  Carthage defeated UW-Whitewater 3-1 (25-15, 25-21, 18-25, 25-23)  
                         |Box Score| |Photo Gallery (courtesy of Crystal Meyer, all photos are for sale|
12:00 pm Wittenberg defeated Carthage 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-20)
                  Wartburg defeated UW-Oshkosh 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-22)
2:00 pm UW-Whitewater defeated Wartburg 3-2 (25-21, 26-24, 23-25, 16-25, 15-10)
                         |Box Score| |Photo Gallery (courtesy of Crystal Meyer, all photos are for sale|

Saturday Recap
Looking to upset another ranked opponent after an emotional win over fourth ranked Wittenberg Friday night, the Warhawks fell short against Carthage Saturday morning.

Whitewater tallied more kills than the Lady Reds but errors proved costly in the match. The Warhawks totaled 30 attack errors in the contest coupled with 10 service errors and two blocking errors. UW-W did have the advantage in kills 50-45, service aces 9-6 and digs 87-84, however, Carthage posted big numbers on defense at the net with 12 total blocks (one solo, 22 assisted).

Sofia Sanchez (Janesville/Craig) and Leanna Lillge (Ixonia/Watertown) shared match high honors with 14 kills apiece. Three Warhawks recorded double digit digs including libero Kelsey Nobilio (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) with 26, defensive specialist Alyssa Bauer (Naperville, IL/Central) with 16 and setter Heidi Buss (Cedarburg/Cedarburg) added 15.

Michelle Madeja led the Lady Reds with 12 kills and four total blocks (one solo, three assisted). Defensively, Cindy Cavanagh, Lauren Dembkowski and Jordan Burkholder teamed up for 16 assist blocks and four Carthage defenders posted double figure digs.

Carthage went 3-1 at the invitational to move to 26-5 overall.

UW-W was matched up against Wartburg in the final match of the UW-Whitewater Invitational Saturday afternoon. A relentless offense and solid defense proved to be the golden ticket against the Knights.

Four Warhawks had ten or more kills in the match led by Sanchez's 14. Lillge and right side Kaily Rathke (Grafton/Grafton) posted 13 kills each and middle blocker Ariel Feiertag (Brown Deer/Brown Deer) added 11 more and recorded four total blocks (three solo, one assisted) in the contest. As a team Whitewater pounded down 63 kills, 12 more than Wartburg.

From the service line Rathke and Buss teamed up for eight aces while the team totaled 13 in all to Wartburg's four.

Defensively, UW-W again had the advantage in digs with 87 total to 73 for WC. Nobilio led the charge on defense with 27 digs, her season high. Three other Warhawks recorded double figure digs. The Knights stole the show defensively at the net with 30 block assists.

Wartburg went 1-2 at the invitational to fall to 21-10 overall.

The Warhawks will travel to Oshkosh Wednesday, October 26 to take on the Titans at 7:00 pm.

Friday Recap
The UW-Whitewater volleyball team, ranked twenty-second in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, swept fourth ranked Wittenberg 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 27-25) Friday night in Whitewater, Wisconsin, handing the Tigers their third loss of the season.

Wittenberg, now 25-3, has swept 23 opponents this season. Whitewater's 3-0 win is just the third time WU has been on the losing end of a three set match in two seasons with the last loss at the hand of Hiram College September 26, 2010.

The Warhawks produced a balanced attack but were relentless at the net against the Tigers pounding down 43 kills in the match in 130 attempts, teaming up for 10 assisted blocks and digging up 56 attack attempts. Wittenberg recorded 35 kills, five total blocks and 59 digs.

Leanna Lillge (Ixonia/Watertown) led the charge at the net for UW-W posting a match high 15 kills. Kaily Rathke (Grafton/Grafton) showed what she could do at a new position on the floor hitting .421 with eight kills and zero errors while adding three block assists from the right side. Kim Frei (West Bend/West Bend West) dished out 36 assists in the match and added a service ace. Defensively, two Warhawks recorded double digit digs including Kelsey Nobilio (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) with 13 and Sofia Sanchez (Janesville/Craig) added 10. Ariel Feiertag (Brown Deer/Brown Deer) made her presence known in the middle with four blocks (one solo, three assisted) and eight kills.

The Tigers were led by Kimmie Dyer with 11 kills. Wittenberg's libero, Christina Gilene, posted a match high 26 digs in the contest.

UW-W is now 20-6 this season.

Whitewater will battle another ranked opponent, #10 Carthage, Saturday, October 22 at 10:00 in the Kris Russell Volleyball Arena. UW-W will wrap up play in the invitational with a 2:00 match against Wartburg College.

For additional information: UW-W coach Stacy Boudreau