Box Score The UW-Whitewater volleyball team fell to Washington University in St. Louis 3-0 (25-23, 25-23, 25-22) in the first round of the NCAA Division III Elmhurst, Illinois Regional Thursday evening. The Warhawks wrap up 2013 with an overall record of 27-12. The competition in NCAA regionals marks the twenty-second consecutive appearance for UW-W in the NCAA Division III Championship.

Photo Gallery courtesy of Angela Kelm

A total of seven points separated the two teams in the three set match. UW-W had the advantage in almost every statistic in the first set of the match but untimely errors coupled with the Bears' consistency gave WashU the upperhand. That scenario played out similarly through the next two sets.

Kristen Ruchti (Brodhead/Brodhead) led the Warhawk offense and defense at the net hitting .476 with 12 kills and added four blocks in the match. Brittney Langley (Winnebago, IL/Winnebago) pounded down 11 kills from the right side for Whitewater. Setter Kim Frei (West Bend/West Bend West) dished out 32 assists and added two aces from the service line. Kelsey Nobilio (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) notched her 26th consecutive match, and number 34 for the season, with double figure digs with 18. 

The Warhawks had five named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Midwest Region Team earlier Thursday. Frei, Alivia Holman (South Beloit, IL/Rockton Hononegah) and Ariel Feiertag (Brown Deer/Brown Deer) were named to the All-Region Team with Nobilio and Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson) adding honorable mention recognition. Pfeifer capped her first collegiate season with AVCA Midwest Freshman of the Year honors.

Washington-St. Louis is 27-7 this season and will advance to play the winner of Dominican and Elmhurst Friday.

Preview
The UW-Whitewater women's volleyball team will compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III Championship for the twenty-second consecutive season and twenty-seventh time in program history. The Warhawks were selected as one of the 21 at-large berths into the tournament. The complete tournament field includes 64 teams from across the nation that will compete at eight regional locations.

Championship Website || Printable Bracket || Interactive Bracket || Elmhurst, Illinois Regional Website

UW-W will travel to Elmhurst, Illinois to compete in a regional hosted by Elmhurst College for the second consecutive season. The Warhawks (27-11) will face Washington University in St. Louis (26-7) in the first round of the regional. The first round will be a rematch from earlier this season when the Bears bested the Warhawks 3-2 (20-25, 25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 16-14) in the UW-Whitewater Invitational October 11. 

The rest of the regional will feature first round matchups between Hope (29-2) and Webster (26-8), DePauw (25-6) and Otterbein (26-7) and Dominican (24-9) and Elmhurst (35-4). 

The Warhawks have met four of the seven teams in the regional in 2013. In addition to WashU, Whitewater fell to Depauw 3-0 and Elmhurst 3-2 and swept Dominican 3-0.

The winners of the eight regionals will meet in Holland, Michigan for the quarterfinals, semifinals and national championship hosted by Hope College in the DeVos Fieldhouse November 21-23.

The championship website will include the most up-to-date information on the regional including stats, match recaps and other important information.


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