The No. 8 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team posted its seventh three-set victory in its last eight matches Friday, defeating UW-Eau Claire 25-23, 25-13, 25-18 in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest on Senior Night at Russell Arena.
 
The Warhawks (27-4 overall, 5-2 WIAC) closed the conference regular season with a strong all-around performance, finishing with a .292 team hitting percentage while holding the Blugolds to .072.
 
With the win, UW-Whitewater has wrapped up the No. 3 seed in next week's WIAC Championship and will host the No. 6 seed Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at Russell Arena.
 
Prior to Friday's match, head coach Stacy Boudreau and the Warhawks recognized seniors Stephanie Cherwin (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg), Jaclyn Krizka (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah), Brittney Langley (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) and Stephanie Cherwin (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg). Over the past four years, UW-Whitewater has accumulated a 105-37 record, one regular season conference championship and three appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) led the Warhawks with team highs of 12 kills and five blocks. Langley registered nine kills, while junior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) collected eight kills, six digs and three blocks.
 
Junior setter Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) posted four kills, three service aces, six digs, three blocks and 36 assists. Freshman middle hitter Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) contributed seven kills, including five in the opening set.
 
Junior defensive specialist Tessa Weber (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Tremper) and freshman libero Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) led the back row with 13 digs apiece. Robinson added five assists.
 
In a back-and-forth, high energy first set, neither team led by more than three points. UW-Whitewater broke a 19-19 tie with three of the next four points, but UW-Eau Claire (25-8, 3-3) responded to tie the set at 23-23. A kill by Pfeifer gave the Warhawks a one-point lead, and an attacking error on the Blugolds finished the set.
 
UW-Whitewater sprinted out to a 10-1 advantage in the second set on the serves of Robinson and Krizka and kills by four different players. From there, the Warhawks never led by fewer than five points and took the final six points of the stanza for a 2-0 match lead.
 
In the third, UW-Whitewater broke open a tie match with six consecutive points on Weber's serve to take a 22-16 advantage. Appropriately, Langley finished the match with a kill on the Warhawks' second match point.
 
UW-Whitewater closes the regular season Saturday at noon against Dominican (Ill.) at Russell Arena.