Related Links:
Grand Rapids, Michigan Regional Web Page (includes ticket infomation, visitor resources)
NCAA Division III Volleyball Web Page
 
The No. 9 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team heads to Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Mich., for the regional round of the 2021 NCAA Division III Championship.
 
The Warhawks (26-2 overall) will face Ithaca (N.Y.) in the first round Thursday starting at 2 p.m. Central Time at Van Noord Arena. The winner of Thursday's match advances to the second round against the winner of the Otterbein (Ohio)-Westminster (Pa.) match. The second-round contest will take place Friday at 4:30 p.m. Central Time.

Thursday's match is the second ever between the two teams. UW-Whitewater topped Ithaca 3-0 in the national third-place match in 1995.
 
The Bombers (16-13), members of the Liberty League, also earned a Pool C bid. Ithaca is led offensively by Jaelyn Hershberger (229 kills / 2.36 per set) and Jamie Koopman (222 kills / 2.29 per set), and defensively by Paris Buckner (90 blocks / 0.98 per set) and Jordyn Lyn Hayashi (464 digs / 4.94 per set).
 
Follow Live
 
All seven matches at the Grand Rapids Regional will be streamed live on the web. Fans can also follow live statistics for each match via the individual match links provided on the Grand Rapids Regional web page.
 
Tournament Schedule
 
Thursday, Nov. 11
Match 1: Otterbein vs. Westminster, 11:30 a.m. (12:30 p.m. Eastern Time)
Match 2: UW-Whitewater vs. Ithaca, 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern)
Match 3: Wittenberg vs. St. John Fisher, 4:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. Eastern)
Match 4: Calvin vs. Penn State-Behend, 7 p.m. (8 p.m. Eastern)
 
Friday, Nov. 12
Match 5: Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2, 4:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. Eastern)
Match 6: Winner of Match 3 vs. Winner of Match 4, 7 p.m. (8 p.m. Eastern)
 
Saturday, Nov. 13
Match 7: Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6, 6 p.m. (7 p.m. Eastern)
 
UW-Whitewater Notes
 
The Warhawks earned a Pool C, or at-large, bid to the national tournament, the program's 28th appearance in the last 29 seasons and 32nd bid in program history. UW-W owns a 48-30 record all time in the NCAA Tournament, good for a .615 winning percentage, and claimed national championships in 2002 and 2005. The team finished as national runner-up in 2000, 2001 and 2007, and reached the national semifinals three other times.
 
UW-Whitewater finished as runner-up in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season and postseason tournament. The team posted a 6-1 league record during the regular season and reached the WIAC Tournament final, where it was defeated in four sets by UW-Eau Claire.
 
The Warhawks' .929 win-loss percentage (26-2 record) ranks seventh in NCAA Division III entering regional play. Both of the team's losses in 2021 came at UW-Eau Claire, which is one of eight regional hosts.
 
UW-Whitewater enters the tournament with seven wins against 2021 NCAA qualifiers:

• Chicago (3-2 on Sept. 1 – home)
• Bethel (3-1 on Sept. 11 – neutral site)
• Illinois Wesleyan (3-0 on Oct. 9 – neutral site)
• Greenville (3-0 on Oct. 9 – neutral site)
• UW-Stevens Point (3-0 on Oct. 16 – away)
• Cornell (3-0 on Oct. 22 – home)
• UW-Stevens Point (3-0 on Nov. 4 – home)

 
Head coach Stacy Boudreau is in her 17th year at the helm of the program. She has led the Warhawks to six WIAC regular season championships, six conference tournament titles and 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2005 national championship and two other top-three national finishes. Boudreau enters the regional with a 530-160 coaching record, good for a .768 winning percentage.
 
Defensive specialist Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) is the 2021 WIAC Defensive Player of the Year. A five-time conference defensive player of the week during the regular season, Jensen currently ranks second in the league in digs per set (4.83) and third in service aces per set (0.46). She is also a big reason UW-Whitewater ranks 14th in the nation in both hitting percentage (.247) and opposing hitting percentage (.092).
 
The Warhawks rank third in NCAA Division III with 2.41 team blocks per set. First team All-WIAC middle hitter Morgan Wardall (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) leads the team with 80 blocks (0.92 per set), and is followed closely by middle hitter Kirsten Anderson (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie), who enters the tournament with 76 (0.88 per set). Other top blockers include Jenna Weinfurt (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) with 57 / 0.64 per set, Baylie Hansen (Bonduel, Wis./Shawano) with 52 / 0.62 per set, Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) with 48 / 0.53 per set and Emma Aske (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) with 30 / 0.35 per set.
 
Offensively, UW-Whitewater is led by Weinfurt, who begins regional play with 282 kills (3.17 per set). McNeil, who joined Jensen, Wardall and Weinfurt on the All-WIAC first team, is second on the team with 230 kills (2.56). Wardall and Anderson enter Thursday's match with 180 and 160 kills, respectively. Anderson, Wardall and McNeil each rank among the top five in the WIAC in hitting percentage. Anderson leads the way at .358, followed by Wardall at .354 and McNeil at .295.
 
Seniors KellyAnn Sotiros (New Berlin, Wis./West Allis Hale) and Paige Manssen (Bull Valley, Ill./McHenry West) handle the setting duties for the Warhawks. Sotiros leads UW-W with 530 assists (5.89 per set) and Manssen ranks second with 391 assists (4.34). Both Sotiros and Manssen are exceptional servers as well, entering the tournament with 34 and 28 service aces, respectively.
 
Aske and Hailey Mackenthun (Webster, Minn./Northfield) join Jensen as leaders on defense. Aske ranks third on the team with 198 digs (2.33 per set), and Mackenthun is fourth with 166 digs (1.93 per set). Mackenthun also ranks fourth on the team with 24 service aces.