The No. 16 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team worked valiantly during its final home match of the 2019 regular season Friday night but was outlasted by UW-Stevens Point 30-28, 23-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-12 in a back-and-forth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match at Russell Arena.
 
The Warhawks (21-7 overall, 6-1 WIAC), the conference regular season champions and No. 1 seed in next week's WIAC Championship, earned at least one set point in each of the first four sets, but were held to a split. The team led 23-21 in the fourth set, but UW-Stevens Point closed the set on a 6-2 run to force the fifth.
 
In the fifth, the Pointers (23-8, 5-2) took a commanding 11-4 advantage before UW-Whitewater rallied for seven of the next eight points to draw within 12-11 following a kill by freshman outside hitter Chloe Buescher (Janesville, Wis./Milton).
 
UW-Stevens Point claimed the final three points of the period to clinch the match.
 
Buescher led UW-Whitewater with 23 kills, and was one of seven Warhawks with double-digit digs at 11. Sophomore outside hitter Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) also recorded a double-double with 14 kills, 11 digs and four blocks, and senior outside hitter Rachel Butterfield (Milton, Wis./Milton) collected 13 kills and three digs.
 
Senior middle hitter Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster) totaled nine kills and six blocks, and sophomore setter Paige Manssen (Bull Valley, Ill./McHenry West) tallied a double-double with 32 assists and 14 digs. Freshman setter Maggie Streckert (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) contributed 18 assists and six digs.
 
Freshman libero Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) paced the defense with 34 digs and added five assists. Sophomore outside hitter Emma Aske (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) and defensive specialist Hailey Mackenthun (Webster, Minn./Northfield) registered 13 digs apiece, and sophomore outside hitter Emily Gillen (Richfield, Wis./Slinger) finished with 11 digs to go along with three blocks.
 
Prior to the match, Butterfield and Doll were recognized for their accomplishments over the last four years. Since the start of the 2016 season, UW-Whitewater has won 77 percent of its matches, including 81.5 percent in conference regular season play. Butterfield and Doll have been a part of two WIAC regular season championships, one conference tournament title and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
 
The Warhawks close the regular season in Kenosha Saturday with a 12 p.m. match against Aurora (Ill.). The match will be hosted by Carthage.