The UW-Whitewater women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches in the first day of an invitational hosted by Calvin Friday. The Warhawks lost to Otterbein 3-0 (29-27, 25-22, 25-20) and Calvin 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17, 15-11). All three squads are mentioned in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll -- the Warhawks are #16, Calvin #15 and Otterbein is receiving votes.
UWW won the battle at the service line but were outhit in the first match of the day against Otterbein. The Warhawks tallied nine aces in the contest while the Cardinals registered five. Offensively, Otterbein hit .248 with 45 kills and UWW hammered down 40 at a .133 clip.
Delaney Ward (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) paced the UW-Whitewater offense hitting .444 with a team-high 14 kills in 27 attempts. Libero
Natalie Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep) registered 18 digs while
Addie Bruns (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) added 11.
Aubrie Krzus (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South) tallied 24 assists in the match.
In the top 20 matchup, the Warhawks out-blocked the Knights 15-10 but Calvin had the upperhand offensively with 63 kills compared to 48 for UWW.
Mackenzie Hartman (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton-Warrenville South) led UW-Whitewater in the kill column with 14 on the outside.
Abbie Dix (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) was a force at the net with 11 kills and nine blocks. Krzus added a phenomenal line with eight kills, 34 assists, five blocks and nine digs.
Lawton led the Warhawks defensively with 24 digs while
Kylee Altendorf (West Bend, Wis./West) registered 11.
UWW wraps up the invitational against Colorado College Saturday.
