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The No. 11 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team clinched its first 30-win season since 2009 and punched its ticket to Saturday's Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship final with a 25-19, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20 triumph over UW-La Crosse on Friday in a semifinal match at UW-Oshkosh.
 
The Warhawks (30-4 overall), who won for the 20th time in their last 21 matches, will take on the winner of Friday's match between No. 5 seed UW-Stevens Point and top-seeded UW-Oshkosh.
 
With Friday's victory, UW-Whitewater, the No. 3 seed, avenged a three-set loss last week at UW-La Crosse (19-9), which is the tournament's second seed.
 
Junior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) tallied 14 kills, six digs and five blocks to lead the Warhawks, who finished with a .212 team hitting percentage and totaled 13 blocks while holding the Eagles to a .059 percentage.
 
Junior setter Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) posted 10 kills, 35 assists, five digs and three blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) recorded eight kills, and sophomore middle hitter Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) registered six kills and a team-high six blocks.
 
Senior right side hitter Brittney Langley (Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) added seven kills and five blocks.
 
Freshman Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) and junior Tessa Weber (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Tremper) led the defense with 21 and 17 digs, respectively. Senior Jaclyn Krizka (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) contributed nine digs and six assists. Each defensive specialist also added two service aces.
 
In the first set, UW-Whitewater slowly built its advantage and grabbed set point at 24-18 thanks to consecutive blocks by Langley and freshman middle hitter Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels). After a point for UW-La Crosse, Langley put away a kill from Hasler to give the Warhawks a one-set lead.
 
The Eagles jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the second before UW-Whitewater responded to tie it at 10-10. From there, the Warhawks never led again in the set despite closing to within one point on seven different occasions.
 
UW-Whitewater took control of the third set from the start, making runs on the serves of Weber, Robinson and Wagner to lead 12-5. The Warhawks never led by fewer than six for the remainder of the period to take a 2-1 match lead.
 
In the fourth, UW-La Crosse jumped out to a 14-9 lead, but UW-Whitewater continued to fight back, posting a 9-1 run on the serves of Robinson and Krizka to take an 18-15 advantage. The Eagles got as close as one, but the Warhawks closed the set on a 4-0 run to take the match.
 
Tomorrow's championship match will be streamed live on video, courtesy of UW-Oshkosh.