Related Links:WIAC Championship Web Page The No. 8 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team begins postseason play Tuesday with a first-round match in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship tournament against UW-Stout at 7 p.m. at Russell Arena.
The Warhawks (28-4 overall), who enter the week with the NCAA Midwest Region's top ranking, are the No. 3 seed in the WIAC Tournament. UW-Stout is the sixth seed.
The winner of Tuesday's contests advances to face No. 2 seed UW-La Crosse this Friday at 5 p.m. in Oshkosh. UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh shared the regular season conference championship, with the Titans earning the top seed and right to host based on head-to-head tiebreaker.
The semifinal winners will meet Saturday at 2:30 p.m. for the tournament title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
UW-Whitewater enters the postseason after finishing up the regular season with a 5-2 mark in conference play. The team ranks No. 1 in the WIAC in team hitting percentage (.226), opponent hitting percentage (.125), kills (13.48 per set) and service aces (1.79 per set).
Junior outside hitter
Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) leads the league in kills (405) and kills per set (3.68) and is hitting .231. She also ranks second on the team in blocks (69), third in digs (287) and fifth in service aces (24).
In her first year as a setter in college volleyball, junior
Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) has been superb in leading the offense. She ranks fourth in the conference with 1,098 assists (10.07 per set) and is the WIAC leader in service aces per set (0.40, 44 total). Hasler also enters the week with 154 kills (1.41 per set), 210 digs (1.93) and 61 blocks.
Sophomore outside hitter
Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) and sophomore middle hitter
Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) have also been key components at the net.
In her first year with the program, Racky ranks eighth in the conference in hitting percentage (.273) and second on the team with 247 kills (2.49 per set).
Wagner leads the team in both hitting percentage (.276) and blocks (109), and is among the league's top 10 in both categories. She also ranks third on the team with 231 kills and sixth with 21 service aces.
Senior right side hitter
Brittney Langley (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) ranks fourth on the team with 181 kills (2.81 per set) and has 43 blocks. Freshman middle hitter
Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) enters the postseason with 52 blocks (0.74 per set) and 104 kills (1.49 per set).
Freshman defensive specialist
Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) leads the defense. She sits third in the league with 565 digs (5.14 per set) and fourth in service aces (39, 0.35 per set).
Senior
Jaclyn Krizka (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) and junior
Tessa Weber (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Tremper) also serve as integral members of the back row. Krizka ranks second on the team with 289 digs (2.63 per set) and fourth with 26 service aces, while Weber is second in the conference to Hasler with 42 service aces (0.38 per set) and has 280 digs (2.55 per set).
UW-Stout (16-17) placed sixth in the conference this season with a 2-5 mark. The Blue Devils rank second in the WIAC in digs (17.25 per set).
Ashley Pratt leads the offense with 354 kills (2.58 per set) and a .257 hitting percentage. Kennedy Strain enters the week with 268 kills (2.16 per set) and a .270 hitting percentage. Pratt and Strain each have 105 blocks.
Payton Schultz leads the UW-Stout defense with 643 digs. Eight other players enter the postseason with 100 or more digs for the year, including Molly Brion, who ranks second on the team with 333 (2.75 per set) and boasts a team high 26 service aces.
In the regular season meeting between the two teams, the Warhawks held the Blue Devils to a .065 hitting percentage and recorded 10 team blocks in a 25-18, 25-18, 25-16 victory on Oct. 9 in Menomonie. Pfeifer posted a match-high 12 kills, and Robinson led the back row with 12 digs.
