The No. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team pushed its current winning streak to 13 matches Wednesday night with a 26-24, 25-22, 25-10 triumph at UW-Platteville in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match.
The Warhawks (21-1 overall, 5-1 WIAC) overcame deficits in the first and second sets before running away in the third to remain one match behind UW-Eau Claire in the conference standings with one more to play.
Jenna Weinfurt (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) led UW-W with 13 kills on a .312 hitting percentage to go with two blocks and two digs.
Morgan Wardall (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) hit a .615 on her way to a nine-kill, three-block performance.
Kirsten Anderson (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) posted six kills, and
Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) contributed seven kills.
KellyAnn Sotiros (New Berlin, Wis./West Allis Hale) registered a double-double with 22 assists and 15 digs, while
Paige Manssen (Bull Valley, Ill./McHenry West) tallied 10 assists and four digs.
Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) finished with 14 digs and six assists, and
Emma Aske (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) generated eight digs to go with four kills and two blocks.
The opening set featured 13 ties. The Pioneers (11-13, 1-5) led 14-11 before UW-Whitewater rallied to tie the score at 17-17.
With the set tied at 21-21, the two teams traded points to get to 24-24. Wardall gave the Warhawks the lead with a kill, and Aske ended the period with a service ace on the next point.
UW-Platteville led 18-14 in the second set, but UW-Whitewater responded again, winning eight of the next nine points on the serves of Sotiros and Aske for a 22-19 advantage. Anderson gave UW-W a 2-0 match lead with a kill on the final point of the set.
The Warhawks sprinted to an 8-2 lead in the third and didn't look back. UW-W hit .333 in the set while holding the Pioneers to minus-.034.
UW-Whitewater hosts Cornell (Iowa) this Friday for Dig Panici Night at Russell Arena. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.
