KENOSHA, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's volleyball team fell to Elmhurst College 3-2 (14-25, 25-21, 22-25, 32-30, 16-14) in the first round of the NCAA Division III Regional hosted by Carthage College in Kenosha Thursday afternoon. 

"We are disappointed with the loss," said head coach Stacy Boudreau, "but, like I told our team in the locker room, I'm proud of the way we played today."

The Warhawk offense was efficient in the first set, pounding down 13 kills while committing just one error to lead UW-Whitewater to a 25-14 win.

Elmhurst quickly swung the momentum to its side in the second set, but a 5-0 Warhawk run gave UW-Whitewater a 10-7 lead and some momentum. EC put together an 11-3 run to even the match at one set apiece. The Bluejays posted 17 kills and held the UW-Whitewater offense to just 11. 

The Warhawks took a 2-1 lead in the match with a 25-22 win in set three. UW-Whitewater trailed to open the set but fought back to knot the score 9-9. The teams traded small runs as the set remained close at 23-22 in favor of the Warhawks. Senior middle Kristen Ruchti (Brodhead/Brodhead) teamed with sophomore outside Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson/Fort Atkinson) on a huge block to force set point. Pfeifer hammered down the next ball to seal the win. The efficency returned for UW-Whitewater's offense with 10 kills and a .333 hitting percentage, and the defense held Elmhurst to an attack percentage of .258. 

Set four was a marathon. The Warhawks forced five match points and stayed alive through two Elmhurst set points but eventually the Bluejays put together back-to-back points for the 32-30 win.

Elmhurst led 8-5 as the teams switched benches in the decisive fifth set. The Warhawks rattled off four in a row to grab a 9-8 lead and forced an Elmhurst timeout. The two teams traded points until, with the score 14-14, EC posted score two in a row to seal the win.

Junior outside hitter Jessica Sabey (Merrill/Merrill) had a career day offensively with 18 kills in 43 attempts with just four errors, good for an attack percentage of .326. She added four blocks, including one solo and three assisted. Pfeifer posted 13 kills in 29 attempts with three errors, good for a hitting percentage of .345, and also added four blocks (three solo). 

Despite excelling individually, both Sabey and Pfeifer commented on the importance of the team's success.

"We win as a team and we lose as a team," Sabey said. "We out-communicated [Elmhurst] today and we did everything we prepared to do but we took the loss as a team." 

Pfeifer added, "We all rely on each other on the court. Jess and I wouldn't be where we are today without everyone else on the court."

Boudreau noted, "I'm really proud of the way our seniors came out and played and led the team today. I think every single player for us thought we could win and it is dissappointing that we didn't finish with the win."

The Warhawks end the 2014 season with a 26-9 overall record. UW-Whitewater earned a share of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a 7-1 league record earlier this season. 

Elmhurst advances to face the winner between Calvin and UW-Oshkosh Friday in the regional semifinal.