Related Links:
NCAA Chicago Regional Web Page
Live Stats
Live Video
NCAA Division III Volleyball Web Page
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team heads to the eight-team NCAA Chicago Regional this weekend and takes on Otterbein (Ohio) in its first-round match Friday starting at 5:30 p.m.
The Warhawks (22-9 overall) earned a Pool C, or at-large, bid for the program's 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the last 28 years. The team claimed the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship for the league-best 17th time and made its seventh straight appearance in the conference tournament final.
Otterbein (25-6) is also an at-large qualifier after reaching the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament final, where it fell in five sets against nationally-ranked Ohio Northern.
The Cardinals are the Warhawks' second straight OAC opponent in the first round of the NCAA Regional. UW-Whitewater bested Ohio Northern in three sets to start last year's national tournament in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Both Otterbein and UW-Whitewater are receiving votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Coaches Top 25.
The winner of Friday's match takes on the winner of the match featuring Westminster (Mo.) and No. 2 Chicago on Saturday at 5 p.m. Other first-round match-ups at the regional include No. 5 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) against No. 24 Washington-St. Louis, and Grinnell (Iowa) against No. 4 Carthage.
Sunday's regional final is set for 2 p.m. The winner of the regional will travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for the NCAA Championship on Nov. 21-23.
The Warhawks enter the NCAA Tournament with a final ranking of No. 5 in the NCAA Midwest Region. The team owns four wins against teams in the field of 64 teams – Carthage, UW-Eau Claire, Ohio Northern and UMass Boston.
All-conference selections
Ashton Doll (Lancaster, Wis./Lancaster),
Chloe Buescher (Janesville, Wis./Milton),
Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) and
Rachel Butterfield (Milton, Wis./Milton) lead UW-Whitewater into the weekend.
Buescher, the WIAC Newcomer of the Year and a first team honoree, leads the team and ranks fifth in the conference with 328 kills (2.93 per set) and ranks second with 61 blocks. The outside hitter also enters the tournament with 248 digs (2.21 per set).
Doll, who was named first team All-WIAC for the second straight year, leads the league and ranks seventh in NCAA Division III with 131 blocks, including 1.10 per set, good for 16th in the nation. The middle hitter also begins the NCAA Tournament with a team-best .269 hitting percentage, good for fifth in the WIAC, and 252 kills (2.14 per set).
Jensen, the team's libero, earned first team All-WIAC and All-Defensive Team accolades. She leads the team and ranks second in the conference in digs (636 / 5.39 per set) and is seventh in the league with a team-high 40 service aces (0.34 per set).
Butterfield, an outside hitter, garnered honorable mention honors for the second straight season. She ranks third on the team with 240 kills (2.14 per set) and 47 blocks (0.42 per set), and second with a .204 hitting percentage.
Sophomore outside hitter
Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) averages 2.15 kills per set, and sophomore outside hitter
Emma Aske (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) ranks fifth on the team with 121 kills and is fourth with 238 digs (2.56 per set).
The Warhawks' setter rotation includes sophomores
Paige Manssen (Bull Valley, Ill./McHenry West),
KellyAnn Sotiros (New Berlin, Wis./West Allis Hale) and freshman
Maggie Streckert (Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove).
Sotiros leads the group with 444 assists (4.72 per set) and ranks third on the team with 24 service aces. Streckert owns 425 assists (4.57 per set) and is fifth on the team with 42 blocks, and Manssen averages 3.47 assists per set and has 236 total.
Sophomore defensive specialist
Hailey Mackenthun (Webster, Minn./Northfield) joins Jensen in the back row. She ranks second on the team in both digs (296 / 2.57 per set) and service aces (36 / 0.41 per set).
Otterbein is led by three-time OAC Player of the Year Tate Eppard, who leads the team with 383 kills (3.61 per set) and 80 blocks (0.75 per set). Setter Carlie Craycraft was named OAC Freshman of the Year, and enters the tournament with 1,205 assists (11.48 per set), which ranks second in NCAA Division III, and 31 service aces.
The Cardinals rank among the top 15 in the nation in assists per set (13.33), kills per set (14.07) and hitting percentage (.246).
