Women's Volleyball

UW-Whitewater Wins Women’s Volleyball Tournament Crown

OSHKOSH, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater posted a 25-23, 25-20, 25-22 victory over UW-Oshkosh to claim the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Women’s Volleyball Tournament (presented by Culver’s) at Kolf Sports Center on Nov. 11.
 
The tournament title is the second straight – and 18th overall – for the Warhawks. UW-Whitewater (26-4), ranked No. 6 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association/Taraflex NCAA Division III Poll, also secured the conference’s automatic NCAA bid. The Warhawks will make their 34th NCAA appearance.
 
The loss snapped a conference record 34-game winning streak for No. 2-ranked UW-Oshkosh (34-1).

The Warhawks worked back from an early 4-1 deficit out of the gate to knot the first set 5-5. The squads traded points until UW-Whitewater went on a 4-0 run to take a 13-10 advantage. The Titans were forced to call a timeout and scored the next three to tie the set once again. 

The set continued that way, a back-and-forth battle, all the way until the end. A Titan error gave the Warhawks the first set point 24-22. UW-Oshkosh registered a kill on the next point before Aubrie Krzus sneakily dumped the ball over on the second hit for the final point and a 1-0 lead in the match for UW-Whitewater. 

The Warhawks never trailed in set two, leading by as much as seven late in the set 20-13. Still the home team battled back to force two set points before Kirsten Anderson put it away with a kill. 

The third set was reminiscent of the first two - back-and-forth early on followed by a Warhawk run that gave UW-Whitewater a 17-11 advantage. The 8-0 burst featured three kills from outside hitter Jenna Weinfurt. 

The Titans responded with their own 6-0 run to knot the set 17-17. After trading a number of points, UW-Whitewater strung together three in a row to give a 21-18 cushion 21-18. UW-Whitewater scored three of the next five to force match point 24-20. After a pair of miscues, middle hitter Hannah Proctor’s hard cut shot towards the line couldn't be handled by the Titan libero and the Warhawks stormed the court in celebration. 

Anderson was efficient from the middle with 13 kills in 29 attempts with just a single attack error - a hitting percentage of .414. The nation's top blocker added a solo and six assist blocks in the match. Weinfurt matched Anderson's kill output with 13 to share match-high honors, adding 10 assists for the double-double. Right side Payton Kuepers added two solo and three assist blocks. 

Krzus dished out 32 assists adding a pair of kills, an ace and a block. In the backcourt, Morgan Jensen led all players with 28 digs. Ally Longden added double-digit digs with 13.
 
Riley Kindt led UW-Oshkosh with 10 kills, while Sami Perlberg added eight. Abby Fregien contributed 22 digs for the Titans. 
 
Selections for the NCAA Division III Championship will be announced on Nov. 13.
 
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