UW-Whitewater Finishes As NCAA Women’s Volleyball Runner-Up

**UW-Whitewater Sports Information contributed to this recap

SALEM, Va.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater fell 25-19, 25-19, 15-25, 26-28, 15-10 to Juniata College (Pa.) in the national championship match of the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championship at the Cregger Center on Dec. 7.

It is the fourth national runner-up finish for the Warhawks, who compiled a 31-4 record this season and won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament title. It is the first 30-win season for the Warhawks since 2015. UW-Whitewater made its 35th NCAA appearance and owns a 58-34 all-time record in NCAA postseason matches.

The Warhawks reached the title game with a 25-13, 25-23, 25-19 victory over Emory University (Ga.) in the quarterfinals, and upended Johns Hopkins University (Md.) 13-25, 25-16, 17-25, 25-16, 15-7 in the semifinals.

UW-Oshkosh also represented the WIAC in the national quarterfinals, but dropped a 25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-11 decision to Johns Hopkins. It was the second straight quarterfinal appearance for the Titans in their 20th NCAA postseason showing. UW-Oshkosh completed the 2024 campaign with a 29-6 record and won the WIAC regular-season championship for the 15th time in program history.

Juniata (35-0) has now won 97 consecutive matches and three consecutive national titles. Against the Eagles, UW-Whitewater battled back to force the decisive fifth after trailing 0-2 in the match. The Warhawks turned it around in set three as the best blocking team in the country lived up to its reputation. UW-Whitewater registered seven blocks in the set, holding the Eagles to a negative attack percentage. Meanwhile, the offense picked up the pace hitting .235 with 13 kills. The offense-defense combination led to a lop-sided 25-15 win in the set.

The fourth set was arguably one of the most thrilling of the season. UW-Whitewater trailed early until Jenna Weinfurt took over. The powerful outside hitter posted UW-Whitewater's next five points - all on kills - to tie the set 10-10. From there, the teams traded points, battling it out as the set continued on. Juniata claimed the first set and match point, 25-24, but the Warhawks had the response on an Alayna Jansky kill.

The Eagles forced another match point and setter Aubrie Krzus pushed the ball back to this outside, this time for Weinfurt. She drove the ball on a dart toward the endline and the line judge lifted his flag to signal out. Juniata rushed the floor as Head Coach Stacy Boudreau immediately grabbed the green challenge card. The officials went to the monitor and quickly returned to the floor indicating the ball was in, the call overturned for a UW-Whitewater point and the set now tied 26-26.

On the next play, the Eagles' set drifted over the net and Weinfurt put it back down for a UW-Whitewater set point. In a rare feat for a title match, the Warhawks won the set on a bad set as the Juniata setter pushed the ball to the outside pin as the hitters all collapsed toward the middle. The error sent the squads into a fifth.

Following the brief intermission, the Eagles came out on fire scoring the first eight points. The Warhawks did not fold and continued to battle pulling to within four, but the deficit was too much to overcome in the shortened fifth set.

Weinfurt had a phenomenal match with 25 kills, while Jansky posted 16 in the contest. The pair combined for 99 kills over the three matches in the championship and were named to the NCAA Division III Championship All-Tournament Team for their performances. Krzus tallied 38 assists in the match.

Defensively, Jaedynn Evans led UW-Whitewater with 19 digs, while Weinfurt added 18 and Jansky posted 12. At the net, Hannah Proctor had 10 blocks, Krzus and Abbie Dix each registered eight and Chloe Werner added four.

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