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The No. 11 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Whitewater Regional in dramatic fashion Friday night with a 27-29, 25-22, 22-25, 25-18, 17-15 triumph over No. 23 Elmhurst (Ill.) in front of a raucous crowd at Kris Russell Volleyball Arena.
The Warhawks (29-6 overall), the regional's top seed, advance to Saturday's third round, where they'll face 16th-ranked Washington-St. Louis at 7 p.m. at Russell Arena with a chance to move on to next week's NCAA Championship round.
After squaring the match at 2-2, UW-Whitewater, backed by an electric crowd, took a 4-0 lead early in the fifth thanks to a kill by freshman middle hitter
Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster), a block by senior outside hitter
Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) and junior middle hitter
Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb), a service ace by sophomore libero
Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) and a kill by Wagner.
The Bluejays (23-13) quickly recovered, running off four straight points to tie the match at 7-7.
The Warhawks responded with three straight points, including kills by senior setter
Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) and freshman outside hitter
Amanda Spera (Antioch, Ill./Antioch), but Elmhurst rallied to take an 11-10 advantage.
The teams traded three-point runs to set up a match point for the Bluejays at 14-13. A kill by junior right side hitter
Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) and a service ace by Robinson gave UW-Whitewater a match point at 15-14.
Following a point for Elmhurst to tie the frame, Racky and Wagner converted consecutive kills to send UW-Whitewater into the third round.
Wagner finished with a career-best 21 kills to go along with seven digs and four blocks. Racky matched a career high with 19 kills to go with three blocks.
Hasler collected five kills, 17 digs and a career-best 58 assists. Pfeifer tallied 12 kills, 21 digs and four blocks, and Doll registered five kills and a team-best six blocks.
Robinson recorded a career-high 38 digs along with eight assists and three service aces. Freshman defensive specialist
Elizabeth Tworek (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic) and senior defensive specialist
Tessa Weber (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Tremper) contributed 15 and 12 digs, respectively.
In the first set, the Warhawks erased an 11-7 deficit and forced an Elmhurst timeout leading 20-18. The team then fought off four set points before the Bluejays claimed two in a row to take the set.
UW-Whitewater trailed early again in the second set before fighting back to take a 17-16 advantage. After Elmhurst climbed back to the lead at 22-21, the Warhawks won four consecutive points, including two on kills from Pfeifer and freshman outside hitter
Alexandra Bialo (Greendale, Wis./Greendale), to take the set and level the match at 1-1.
In the third, the Bluejays sprinted out to a 9-2 advantage and led 18-10 later in the period. UW-Whitewater clawed to as close as two points, but Elmhurst held on to take a 2-1 lead into the fourth.
The Warhawks' momentum built with its comeback attempt late in the third and helped the team jump out to a 6-1 advantage in the fourth. From there, UW-Whitewater's lead never shrunk to fewer than three points.
Washington-St. Louis, the regional's No. 3 seed, advanced to Saturday's third round with a 3-0 victory over Bluffton (Ohio).
Earlier this season, the Warhawks posted a 3-0 win over the Bears on Sept. 10 at Cal Lutheran.
