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The No. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team begins postseason play Tuesday as it hosts UW-Stout Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Presented by Culver's at Russell Arena.
 
The Warhawks wrapped up the regular season over the weekend with a 20-7 record, including a 5-2 mark in WIAC matches, and earned the No. 3 seed in this week's tournament.
 
The Blue Devils finished the regular season at 9-19, including 2-5 in conference play, and are the sixth seed.
 
The winner of Tuesday's match will visit No. 2 seed UW-Eau Claire Thursday at 7 p.m. in the semifinal round. The highest remaining seed after the semifinals will host the tournament final Saturday at a time to be determined.
 
After winning 13 straight matches between Sept. 20-Oct. 21, UW-Whitewater enters the postseason on a four-match losing streak. The team's losses have come against two teams ranked among the top four in the NCAA's latest Midwest Regional rankings, while the other two have come against the top two seeds in this week's tournament.
 
Seniors Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) and Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) lead the offense heading into Tuesday's match.
 
Wagner, a middle hitter, leads the conference with 104 blocks (1.04 per set) and is fourth in hitting percentage (.274) and ninth in kills (288 / 2.88 per set). Racky leads the team and ranks among league leaders in kills (291 / 2.94 per set) and service aces (36 / 0.36 pet set), is eighth in the WIAC in hitting percentage (.253) and is third on the team in digs (234 / 2.36 per set).
 
Junior Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) and sophomore Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) fill out the rotation at middle hitter. Berk is hitting .214 with 45 blocks, good for third on the team, and Doll enters the tournament averaging 0.86 blocks per set while hitting .232.
 
Junior Amanda Spera (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) and sophomore Rachel Butterfield (Milton, Wis./Milton) have been steady contributors as outside hitters. Spera ranks among the conference's top 15 in kills (242 / 2.47 per set) and hitting percentage (.231), and Butterfield is 15th in the league with 208 kills (2.29 per set).
 
In her first year as the team's starting setter, junior Elizabeth Niestrom (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) leads the WIAC with 1,052 kills (10.73 per set) and is second on the team with 48 blocks (0.49 per set). She is also fourth on the team with 182 digs (1.86 per set).
 
Junior Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls), sophomore Elizabeth Niestrom (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) and freshman Abigail Boyden (Malta, Ill./DeKalb) lead the back row. Robinson leads the conference with 5.77 digs per set for a total of 583 and is 15th with 29 service aces. Tworek is third on the team with 213 digs (2.11 per set), and Boyden enters Tuesday's match with 138 digs (1.55 per set) and 25 service aces.
 
Sophomore defensive specialist Mackenzie Evers (St. John, Ind./Lake Central) has been solid in the serving game. She is currently tied for second on the team with 29 aces.
 
The Warhawks have won 32 straight matches against UW-Stout on a streak that dates back to 1994.
 
In the lone meeting between the two teams this season, UW-Whitewater erased a 2-0 deficit to win the final three sets of a 23-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-21, 16-14 victory on Oct. 13 in Menomonie. Butterfield posted a career-high 20 kills and was one of five Warhawks in double figures in kills. Robinson led the defense with 29 digs.
 
UW-Whitewater is the two-time defending WIAC Tournament champion and has won 16 tournament titles all time, the most in league history.