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Box Score / Play-By-Play
The No. 11 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team remained unbeaten for the 2021 season Wednesday night in a 25-18, 25-20, 25-18 triumph against UW-Oshkosh in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The Warhawks (6-0 overall, 1-0 WIAC) held the Titans to a .078 hitting percentage and outpaced UW-Oshkosh in blocks (8-6) and service aces (5-1).
Jenna Weinfurt (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) led the UW-W offense with 14 kills on a .435 hitting percentage to go along with four digs and two blocks.
Morgan Wardall (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) tallied 10 kills on a .500 hitting percentage and added two blocks.
Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) collected seven kills, and
Kirsten Anderson (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) posted five kills, three service aces, four digs and five blocks.
Paige Manssen (Bull Valley, Ill./McHenry West) and
KellyAnn Sotiros (New Berlin, Wis./West Allis Hale) finished with 19 assists apiece. Sotiros registered six digs, and Manssen recorded 10 digs.
Reigning American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week
Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) led the defense with 15 digs and added four assists and one service ace.
Hailey Mackenthun (Webster, Minn./Northfield) contributed seven digs.
The two teams traded points early in the first set before UW-Whitewater made runs on Anderson's and Sotiros' serves on its way to a 13-9 lead.
Emma Aske (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) served the Warhawks to six consecutive points to stretch the lead to 11, and Wardall ended the set with a kill.
The two teams fought to a 9-9 tie in the second before the Warhawks scored six of the next seven points for a 15-10 advantage. The Titans (7-3, 0-1) drew to within 17-14, but UW-W didn't allow them any closer. McNeil gave UW-Whitewater a 2-0 match lead with a kill to end the period.
UW-Oshkosh led 6-3 early in the fourth set, but Manssen, Mackenthun and Anderson served to help the Warhawks take a 13-10 lead. UW-W didn't relinquish the lead from there, and McNeil and Wardall capped the match with back-to-back kills.
UW-Whitewater hosts Concordia Wisconsin and North Central (Ill.) for a tri-match this Saturday at Russell Arena. The Warhawks will face Concordia Wisconsin at 12 p.m. and North Central at 6 p.m.
