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The No. 16 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team put forth a consistent, effective offensive attack Thursday night to punch its ticket to the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship final with a 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20 victory at UW-Eau Claire in a semifinal of the tournament, which is presented by Culver's.
 
The Warhawks (22-7 overall), the tournament's No. 3 seed, will visit top-seeded UW-La Crosse Saturday at 7 p.m. with the conference tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship on the line.
 
UW-Whitewater hit .276 and finished with 61 kills, tied for the second-most in a four-set match this season.
 
Thursday's match was the Warhawks' second in a seven-day span against the second-seeded Blugolds (17-11), and UW-Whitewater retaliated after falling last Friday in Whitewater in five sets.
 
Senior middle hitter Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) totaled a match-high 18 kills on a .500 hitting percentage and collected five blocks and two digs. Junior outside hitter Amanda Spera (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) posted 16 kills and six blocks, and senior right side hitter Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) tallied a double-double with 11 kills and 15 digs.
 
Sophomore middle hitter Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) registered a career-high 10 blocks, and sophomore outside hitter Rachel Butterfield (Milton, Wis./Milton) finished with 11 kills, five digs and two blocks.
 
Junior setter Elizabeth Niestrom (Darien, Ill./Hinsdale South) recorded 51 assists, seven digs and six blocks. Junior defensive specialist Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) led the defense with 24 digs to go along with three service aces, and sophomore defensive specialist Elizabeth Tworek (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic) contributed 10 digs.
 
UW-Eau Claire jumped out to a 12-5 advantage and appeared to have the first set well in hand after taking a 20-12 lead.
 
UW-Whitewater surged back into the set with a 7-0 run on the serve of freshman defensive specialist Abigail Boyden. After the Blugolds won two of the next three points for a 22-20 lead, the Warhawks scored the next four points to set up a set point at 24-22.
 
After a kill by UW-Eau Claire, Spera ended the set on a kill to give UW-Whitewater a 1-0 match advantage.
 
The Warhawks took the momentum into the second set, grabbing a 16-10 lead with a 7-1 run. The Blugolds drew to within 20-17, but UW-Whitewater recorded five of the last eight points, including a kill by Butterfield to end the set.
 
Despite a late rally by the Warhawks in the third, UW-Eau Claire held on with a block on its first set point to force a fourth period.
 
With the fourth tied at 4-4, UW-Whitewater embarked on a 5-1 run that included two blocks by Doll and two kills by Spera. From there, the Warhawks led by as many as six point and Blugolds never got closer than two as UW-Whitewater clinched its fifth straight appearance in the WIAC Tournament championship match.