The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks women's volleyball team opened their 2018 season today as the host of the UW-Whitewater Volleyball Invitational.  They played their first two games against Franklin (Ind.) and Minnesota-Morris at Kris Russell Volleyball Arena in the Williams Center.
 
The Warhawks (2-0) defeated Franklin 3-0 in 25-14, 25-21, 25-16 fashion, and followed it up with a 3-1 victory against Minnesota-Morris in the nightcap to a final score of 25-20, 24-26, 25-22, 25-19.
 
The Warhawks started off the day with a 5-0 run against the Grizzles (0-1) in the first set.  The two exchanged points until the Warhawks went off on an 8-0 run to force a Franklin time out.  The Warhawks continued to expand their commanding lead to 24-9 before freshman outside hitter Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) finished the first set with a kill.  
 
In the second set, Warhawks battled back and forth to a 9-6 lead. The Warhawks offense was relentless from here, pulling away from Franklin steadily to a 23-15 score.  A quick 4-0 streak by Franklin forced a Warhawk timeout, but the Warhawks subbed in senior outside hitter Amanda Spera (Antioch, Ill. /Antioch) during that timeout, and she quickly put the second set away with another kill.  The third set started off with the teams battling back and forth for points.  The Warhawks slowly pulled away in the middle of the set, going on a 7-2 run to take a 19-11 lead.  The Warhawks claimed their first victory of the season from there.
 
Freshman setter Paige Manssen (Bull Valley, Ill./McHenry West) led both teams in assists with 21.  Freshman outside hitter Emma Aske (Aurora, Ill. /Metea Valley) had 7 kills, while junior defensive specialist Elizabeth Tworek (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic) had 4 aces, the most from either team. 
 
Against the Cougars (1-1), the Warhawks slowly pulled away in the early first set, keeping a 11-7 lead.  The Cougars tied it up late at 18 apiece, forcing the Warhawks to call a timeout.  The Warhawks capitalized on a late 5-0 run to claim a first set victory, in part due to a key service ace from Aske.
 
The Warhawks continued their hot hand into the start of the second set with a 4-0 run, but the Cougars replied with a 10-1 run of their own.  The Warhawks struggled to find footing until a McNeil kill sparked a 11-3 run to bring them to a 24-24 tie, but fell just shy of claiming the set.  The Warhawks and Cougars kept pace with each other in the third set, tied at 11 apiece midway through.  Late in the set, the Warhawks managed to finally pull away with a 4-0 run thanks to a Cougar service error.
 
In the fourth set, the Warhawks and Cougars once again kept things close early on until the Warhawks started on a 6-1 run thanks to a series of errors and kills, and kept their momentum through the end of the set for the match victory.

McNeil led all players with 12 kills throughout the match, while senior middle hitter Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) had a match-high 7 blocks.  Senior defensive specialist Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) had a total of 22 digs in the match as well. 
 
The Warhawks continue play tomorrow at the Invitational, playing Coe (Iova) at 10 a.m. followed up by DePauw (Ind.) at 2 p.m.