The No. 12 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team controlled all facets of the match Saturday in a 25-16, 25-10, 25-13 triumph over UW-River Falls in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Kris Russell Volleyball Arena.
 
The Warhawks (18-5 overall, 3-1 WIAC) hit .281 for the match and held the Falcons to a minus-.065 percentage on the other side of the net.
 
With UW-Eau Claire's loss at UW-Oshkosh on Friday night, UW-Whitewater moved into a tie for first place in the conference with the Blugolds as of early Saturday evening.
 
Senior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) collected 12 kills on 19 attempts without an error for a .632 hitting percentage to go along with two service aces and seven digs. Freshman outside hitter Alexandra Bialo (Greendale, Wis./Greendale) posted seven kills, and junior right side hitter Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) added six.
 
Sophomore setter Elizabeth Niestrom (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) finished with 36 assists, five digs and two kills.
 
Sophomore libero Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) paced a balanced defense with 10 digs. Senior defensive specialist Tessa Weber (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Tremper) and freshman defensive specialist Elizabeth Tworek (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic) tallied eight digs apiece.
 
UW-River Falls (12-10, 1-3) scored two of the first three points in each set, but the Warhawks quickly took control of each frame.
 
UW-Whitewater used big runs on the serves of Niestrom and freshman middle hitter Samantha Kavajecz (Roscoe, Ill./Rockton Hononegah) to gain a large lead in the first. Weber closed out the set with two service aces over the final three points.
 
Leading 7-4 in the second, the Warhawks posted an 8-0 spurt on Robinson's serve to take a commanding 15-4 advantage. Senior middle hitter Morgan Parker (Brookfield, Wis./East) ended the set with a kill.
 
UW-Whitewater jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the third with help from Pfeifer's serve. The Falcons closed to within 11-8, but the Warhawks scored 14 of the final 19 points to come away with their third straight win.
 
UW-Whitewater wraps up its three-match home stand Friday against Coe (Iowa). The team will host its WIAC "Playing for a Cause" match starting at 7 p.m. at Russell Arena.