The No. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team extended its win streak to 11 matches Saturday with victories in a pair of non-conference matches in St. Paul, Minn.
The Warhawks (18-3 overall) downed No. 7 Northwestern (Minn.), the host for the day, in a contest featuring two of the nation's top 10 ranked teams by a 19-25, 25-19, 25-23, 27-25 score.
UW-Whitewater finished the day with a 23-25, 25-15, 25-11, 25-22 triumph over St. Mary's (Minn.).
After dropping the first set against Northwestern (25-4), UW-Whitewater claimed the final three sets for a critical victory.
Senior right side hitter Sydney Rack tallied 14 kills, four service aces and two blocks. Senior middle hitter
Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) posted 13 kills and two blocks, and junior middle hitter
Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) collected 13 kills.
Junior outside hitter
Amanda Spera (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) registered 12 kills and four digs, and junior setter
Elizabeth Niestrom (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) recorded 51 assists, 13 digs and seven kills.
Junior libero
Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) paced the back row with 24 digs to go along with seven assists. Sophomore defensive specialist
Elizabeth Tworek (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic) contributed 11 digs.
The Warhawks led for a majority of the fourth set and had three match points with a 24-21 lead.
The Eagles tallied three straight points to level the set before Spera stopped the run with a kill to set up another match point.
Northwestern tied the set again, but Spera gave UW-Whitewater the lead again and Berk sealed the match with a solo block.
Against St. Mary's (14-9), the Warhawks totaled 10 team blocks and hit .331 while holding the Cardinals to a .106. UW-Whitewater fell behind 15-5 in the first set, but rallied to nearly win the set before St. Mary's scored on match point with a one-point lead.
The Warhawks controlled play over the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead, and used a late 7-3 run to turn a 19-18 deficit into a 25-22 fourth-set win to take the match.
Racky finished with 17 kills on a .533 hitting percentage and added four blocks, eight digs and two service aces. Wagner tallied 12 kills and five blocks, and Spera finished with 11 kills on a .455 hitting percentage.
Sophomore outside hitter
Rachel Butterfield (Milton, Wis./Milton) recorded 10 kills, and Berk totaled eight kills and five blocks. Niestrom finished with 49 assists and 10 digs.
Robinson led the defense with 24 digs.
The Warhawks continue non-conference action Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Post-Match Quotes
Head Coach Stacy Boudreau
On the Northwestern (Minn.) match:
"We came out and executed really well. Our serve receive was really good. It's probably some of the best volleyball we've played this year. They have big hitters, but we matched up well with them. We were able to score with our offense, and it was an exciting match."
On the St. Mary's match:
"We started off flat. Had a lot of missed serves. Coming down from emotional win, I don't think we were ready for start of game. St. Mary's played very well. They're a good defensive team. Made some adjustments and cleaned up our side of the court for final three sets. Definitely good to end a long weekend with the win. Exciting to come away at 3-0."
On the play of Elizabeth Niestrom (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South):
"A lot of our players were inexperienced in court time. She's one that's gotten better every week. There are still things we are still tweaking. She ran a very efficient offense this weekend. She does a good job balancing our offensive attack spreading it out between our hitters. It's hard to defend when you don't know who to stop - we have a lot of great hitters. She's doing a good job mixing it up and putting hitters in position to be successful."
On the play of Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot):
"Sydney is a pretty special hitter. She had a great game (against St. Mary's). She has such a quick arm. Lizzy's ability to spread the ball around helps pull the blockers away. Sydney had a great week. She also did really well in the back row. She was efficient with passing in serve receive. She didn't have a lot of back row experience (coming into the season), but she has been smooth."
Wagner:
On the Northwestern (Minn.) match:
"It was awesome. They have huge hitters and matched up well with us. It was a really fun game, and it was fun to be a part of."
"It was such a fun atmosphere. We all trusted each other and played our game, and we came out on top."
On the St. Mary's match:
"We came out really slow. We picked it up (midway through) the first set and then after. After the first set, we said can't let this affect us at all. It was the last game of the weekend, so we had to push through it and not let up at all."
Niestrom:
On the Northwestern (Minn.) match:
"We came out slowly, but toward the middle of the game, our players came in and did their job. We brought good energy even though it was early in the morning. We definitely wanted to get revenge from two years ago (when UNW beat UW-W in the first round of the NCAA Tournament). It was a good team effort."
On the St. Mary's match:
"During the first set in that match, we had trouble with our serving. Everyone tired from last match. That's what I took from it. That second set, we were able to be on top of blocking and hitters were ready to transition and take anything. That's what really did it."
On her ability to balance the offense:
"Recently, if I were to set the outside a few times, the other teams have caught on, so spreading the offense has been effective. We've been running middles on different plays and keeping them spread so (the opponent) doesn't know whats coming. That's been effective so far."
On the team's ability to be successful despite a road-heavy schedule this season:
"We've been traveling pretty far, but the team is mentally tough. When we have energy and are on our game, we feel like no one can stop us. Our players are doing a good job not letting travel affect them. We are really determined this year."
