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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's volleyball team served their way to a 3-1 (22-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-23) win over Cornell College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Regional in St. Paul, Minnesota Thursday afternoon. 

The Warhawks advance to the regional semifinal to face Gustavus Adolphus scheduled for Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Gusties defeated UW-Eau Claire 3-1 in the first match of the day. 

The difference in the match came from the service line where the Warhawks enjoyed a 14-7 advantage in aces. KellyAnn Sotiros (New Berlin, Wis./West Allis Hale), one of the top 20 servers in the nation, and Morgan Jensen (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) combined for 10 in the contest. 

The Rams jumped out to an early lead taking a six-point advantage twice, including a 16-10 sway, in set one. From that point, Sotiros bolstered a UWW comeback, leading a four-point spurt with three aces. UW-Whitewater eventually took the lead 22-20 before the Rams went on a five-point run to close out the set. 

As the set scores would suggest, the next three went back-and-forth with the teams trading leads. Tied 24-24 in set two, Erin McNeil (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) hammered down a kill and Jensen followed with an ace to even the match 1-1. Jenna Weinfurt (Waukesha, Wis./Catholic Memorial) was phenomenal offensively in the set with six kills in 13 attempts without committing an error. 

Set three was a teeter-totter affair with a number of ties late. The score was tied at 19, 20, 21, 22 and 23 before UWW recorded the final two points courtesy of a pair of Cornell miscues. The Warhawks used a small run to take a 20-16 lead in set four. The Rams battled back to knot the set 22-22. Kirsten Anderson (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) pounded down a kill and Jensen followed with an ace to make it match point. 

Cornell forced a second match point with a kill that made it 24-23 before McNeil and Anderson teamed up for a block to secure the win. 

Weinfurt led UWW with 15 kills followed by Anderson with 12. Anderson added five blocks including a solo to bolster the Warhawk defense at the net. Sotiros and Emma Bludgen (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) combined for 40 assists in the contest. 

Jensen held down the backcourt with 24 digs. Sotiros and Bludgen joined Jensen in double digit digs with 16 and 12 respectively.