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The No. 11 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team saw its fantastic 2015 season come to an end Thursday night with a 18-25, 25-21, 21.25, 25-20, 16-14 setback against Northwestern (Minn.) in the Regional Round of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship at Russell Arena.
 
The Warhawks finish the year with a 31-5 overall record, including a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament championship, the 15th in program history. The team made its 24th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
Junior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) paced UW-Whitewater with 13 kills, 10 digs and five blocks. Junior setter Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) flirted with a triple-double, totaling nine kills, 13 digs, 44 assists and three service aces.
 
Senior right side hitter Brittney Langley (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) posted 12 kills, while sophomore outside hitter Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) and sophomore middle hitter Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) collected 11 kils apiece.
 
Freshman defensive specialist Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) led the back row with 26 digs and seven assists. Senior defensive specialist Jaclyn Krizka (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) tallied 10 digs, five assists and two service aces.
 
Behind a boisterous crowd, the Warhawks jumped out to a 7-2 advantage to start the first set and never trailed.
 
The Eagles (27-8) led 11-5 to start the second, but UW-Whitewater responded with a 6-0 run on Hasler's serve to level the set. The Warhawks tied the set again at 20-20, but Northwestern scored the next three points and claimed the last two to even the match at 1-1.
 
Trailing 4-1 in the third, UW-Whitewater won eight of the next nine points to take a 9-5 advantage. The two teams traded points from there, and following the 12th tie of the set, the Warhawks won the final four points to make it 2-1 in the contest.
 
The Eagles gained separation late in the fourth set to force a fifth.
 
After Northwestern forced a UW-Whitewater timeout with a 10-7 lead, the Warhawks returned the favor, scoring three straight points to force the Eagles to call time with the score at 10-10.
 
The two teams were tied at 11-11, 12-12, 13-13 and 14-14 before the Eagles recorded the final two points of the thrilling match.
 
Krizka, Langley and senior Stephanie Cherwin (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) wrap up their respective careers after helping the Warhawks post one WIAC regular season championship, one conference tournament title and four trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament over the last four years.
 
Krizka finishes her career at No. 12 on the program's all-time digs list with 1,291.