The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team came out firing on all cylinders to defeat the UW-Stout Blue Devils 3-1 (25-13, 23-25, 25-12, 25-19) in the Warhawks' first match back on the court after a 13-day break. The Warhawks improve to 15-5 this season and take over the lead in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference race with a 3-0 record. The Blue Devils fall to 14-7 and 1-2 in league play. 

In the battle of the top two defenses in the conference, UW-Whitewater won out holding Stout to an attack percentage of just .109 in the contest. The Warhawk offense hit .328 pounding down 61 kills compared to Stout's 35. UW-Whitewater had four players in double figures in kills and four with double digit digs in the match.

The Warhawks rattled off the first six points of the match bolstered by two service aces from freshman middle blocker Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, IL/Dekalb). UW-Whitewater extended the lead to 11-2 and never looked back the rest of the set compiling their largest lead at 21-9. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson) put the finishing touch on the set with a kill to give the Warhawks a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set went back-and-forth with the teams trading points until Stout was able to put together a 6-0 run to lead 14-8. The Warhawks came charging back to knot the score 17-17 but another four point run for the Blue Devils put the set out of reach. 

The fans may have felt a little deja vu in set three as it played out similarly to the first set of the match. This time a 10-2 mid-set run for the Warhawks gave UW-Whitewater a 17-7 lead. The Warhawks scored seven of the last eight points of the set to win 25-12.

Once again, UW-Whitewater jumped out to a fast start in set four taking a 9-4 lead. The Blue Devils used a 7-2 run to tie the set 11-11. With the score 17-15 in favor of UW-Stout, the Warhawks rattled off six in a row to take a 21-17 lead. The Blue Devils scored the next two points but the final four points of the match belonged to the Warhawks for the win.

Senior middle blocker Kristen Ruchti (Brodhead/Brodhead) led all players with 14 kills in 31 attempts with seven errors adding five blocks. Senior right side Ariel Feiertag (Brown Deer/Brown Deer) registered the top attack percentage for UW-Whitewater in the match hitting .455 with 13 kills and posted three blocks. Pfeifer posted a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs adding four aces. Fellow outside junior Jessica Sabey (Merrill/Merrill) posted 10 kills. 

In the backcourt, senior libero Kelsey Nobilio (Johnsburg, IL/Johnsburg) posted 22 digs and junior defensive specialist Jaclyn Krizka (Roscoe, IL/Hononegah) recorded 11. Senior setter Kim Frei (West Bend/West Bend West) also registered a double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs.