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The No. 11 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team starts postseason play this Thursday at 7 p.m. as it takes on either UW-Eau Claire or No. 17 UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship (presented by Culver's) at Kris Russell Volleyball Arena.
 
The Warhawks claimed last year's WIAC Tournament title en route to hosting an NCAA Division III Tournament Regional for the first time since 2002.
 
The winner of Thursday night's match will move on to the tournament final, which is scheduled for Saturday at the highest remaining seed.
 
Thursday's opponent will be the winner of Tuesday night's first-round match. UW-Stevens Point, the fifth seed, visits No. 4 seeded UW-Eau Claire.
 
The Warhawks (25-6 overall) earned the tournament's No. 1 seed after sharing the WIAC regular season championship with UW-La Crosse and UW-Oshkosh and earned the top seed by virtue of their 2-0 record against the Eagles and Titans this season.
 
UW-Whitewater enters postseason play on a six-match winning streak, including three-set victories over then-No. 10UW-La Crosse, UW-Eau Claire and Millikin (Ill.) and four-set wins over Loras (Iowa), 2015 national semifinalist Carthage and 2015 national quarterfinalist Bethel (Minn.).
 
Senior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson), junior right side hitter Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot), junior middle hitter Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) and freshman middle hitter Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) lead the Warhawks up front.
 
A 2015 All-American, Pfeifer leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference with 320 kills (2.86 per set) to go along with 34 service aces, 282 digs and 77 blocks.
 
Wagner leads the conference in both hitting percentage (.319) and blocks (127), and is currently ninth in the nation in the latter. She also ranks second on the team and ninth in the league in kills (300 / 2.68 per set).
 
Racky is third in the conference with a .287 hitting percentage and is third on the team with 260 kills (2.34 per set).
 
Racky and Wagner swept the latest WIAC Player of the Week awards. Racky was recognized for offense after posting 40 kills with a hitting percentage of .402 in four matches last week, while Wagner was the defensive honoree with a team-high 21 blocks (1.62 per set) in four matches.
 
Doll is second in the conference to Wagner with 98 blocks (1.07 per set).
 
Senior setter Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) runs the team's offense. She enters the tournament with 981 assists (9.52 per set) and is fifth on the team in kills (127 / 1.23 per set), digs (206 / 2.00 per set) and service aces (15).
 
Defensive specialists Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls), Elizabeth Tworek (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic) and Tessa Weber (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Tremper) lead the back row.
 
Robinson, a sophomore who serves as the team's libero, leads the team and ranks among the league's top three in digs (525 / 4.69 per set) and service aces (47).
 
Tworek (288 digs / 2.57 per set) and Weber (274 / 2.45 per set) are second and third, respectively, on the team in digs. Weber is second on the team and tied for seventh in the conference with 40 service aces, and Tworek is third on the team with 33 service aces.
 
The winner of the WIAC Tournament earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Selections and regional sites are announced Monday at 11:30 a.m. during a live Selection Show webcast on NCAA.com.