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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team played a pair of games in the first day of the Dig Panici Classic at the Williams Center.
 
The No. 23 Warhawks (15-3) downed St. Thomas (13-6) in the afternoon 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23, before sweeping Luther (Iowa) (9-11) 25-21, 25-19, 25-17.
 
In the first set against St. Thomas, the Warhawks jumped ahead 6-1 early.  St. Thomas fought back, and the two teams battled back and forth to a 20 all tie late in the set.  St. Thomas got the best of the Warhawks, downing them 25-22.  The two teams remained close through the second set, with the Warhawks pulling ahead at the end for a 25-23 victory.
 
Heading into the third set, the teams battled back and forth until the Warhawks took command with a late 7-1 run to give themselves a 22-15 lead en route to a 25-21 victory.  The Warhawks found themselves down early in the fourth set, but an 8-3 run gave them a mid-set advantage at 11-8.  St. Thomas kept close, but could never overtake the Warhawks as they claimed the set and the match
 
Freshman setter KellyAnn Sotiros (New Berlin, Wis./West Allis Hale) led the Warhawks with 25 assists and added seven digs, while freshman setter teammate Paige Manssen (Bull Valley, Ill./McHenry West) posted both 15 assists and three aces. Senior libero Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) led the Warhawks with 30 digs. 
 
The Warhawks turned in a strong performance at the net, with junior middle hitter Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) at 11 blocks, her career high and tied for the 10th-most in one match in program history, freshman outside hitter Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) a career-high eight to go along with her 11 kills, senior middle hitter Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) collected six, freshman outside hitter Emma Aske (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) posted four, and junior outside hitter Rachel Butterfield (Milton, Wis./Milton) totaled three blocks and added a team-high 14 kills.
 
In the night game versus Luther (Iowa), the Warhawks found themselves in a tight first set, down 21-19 towards the end.  A 6-0 run quickly swung the set back to their favor 25-21.  The teams remained neck and neck heading into the second set, until the Warhawks went on yet another 6-0 run to claim a 13-7 edge.  This also proved to be the difference in the 25-19 set.
 
In the third set, the Warhawks clawed back from an early deficit to find themselves tied 16-16, before closing out the set with a decisive 9-1 run to claim the sweep.
 
McNeil lead all Warhawks with 13 kills on the evening.  Doll posted an impressive .545 hitting percentage on her seven kills, while Butterfield led all Warhawks with four blocks.  Freshman outside hitter Emily Gillen (Richfield, Wis./Slinger) had a .333 hitting percentage, while Berk had a .300 hitting percentage.
 
Sotiros contributed 4 aces and 21 assists in the victorious effort, while Manssen added in 16 assists of her own.  Robinson added in 15 digs, and Aske recorded nine kills and 10 digs.

UW-Whitewater's victory over Luther came during Dig Panici Night, an annual celebration of the life of former Warhawk Lisa Panici, who passed away from brain cancer in 2012. Panici's #12 was retired in 2013 and the Warhawks' locker room was named in her honor. All proceeds from admissions and Dig Panici t-shirt sales benefit the Dig Panici Scholarship.
 
The Warhawks play again at noon tomorrow to finish the Dig Panici Classic.  They host No. 10 Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) at the Williams Center.