Women's Volleyball

UW-Whitewater 3, UW-Eau Claire 2 (Championship)

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's volleyball team captured the championship of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional by surviving a five-game match with Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire on Saturday (Nov. 12) in Oshkosh, Wis.

UW-Whitewater, the regional's fourth seed, overcame deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 in games won to take the contest in scores of 18-30, 30-28, 33-35, 30-26, 16-14. The Warhawks (37-4) advanced to their title match by posting 3-0 victories over Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Thursday (Nov. 10) and University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Friday (Nov. 11).

The win over UW-Eau Claire (30-5), the regional's second seed, moves UW-Whitewater to the quarterfinal round of the 60-team NCAA Division III Championship. The Warhawks will play their quarterfinal round contest on Thursday (Nov. 17) in Salem, Va., against Emory University (Ga.). The Eagles (33-5) qualified for their match with UW-Whitewater by defeating Austin College (Texas), 3-1, in the championship contest of the South Regional.

UW-Eau Claire vaulted to a 15-6 lead in game after scoring eight consecutive points. The Blugolds connected for kills on their first seven attempts and did not have a hitting error until leading 18-6. UW-Eau Clare maintained a double digit lead the entire game and led 29-13 before UW-Whitewater scored five straight points. The Blugolds recorded 17 kills and a .438 hitting percentage in the game. UW-Whitewater finished with only 10 kills and a .057 hitting percentage.

Game two was close throughout as neither team held more than a three-point lead. Tied 26-26, UW-Whitewater scored three unanswered points to take a 29-26 advantage. After a side out, the Blugolds closed to within 29-28 before the Warhawks ended the game. UW-Whitewater outhit UW-Eau Claire in the game, .194-.105.

Tied again 26-26 in game three, UW-Whitewater scored three straight points for a 29-26 lead and a chance to take a 2-1 advantage in the match. After a side out, the Blugolds answered with three consecutive points of their own to serve for game point at 30-29. UW-Whitewater rallied back and served for game point at 31-30, 32-31 and 33-32 before UW-Eau Claire scored three unanswered points, including a game-winning service ace. The two teams combined for 40 kills in the game, with the Blugolds hitting .286 and the Warhawks .175.

UW-Eau Claire held a 14-11 lead in game four after a six-point scoring run. UW-Whitewater fought back to tie the score at 15-15 and the teams remained within two points of each other until UW-Whitewater ended the game by winning six of the last nine points. UW-Whitewater held an 18-11 advantage in kills and recorded four service aces.

UW-Eau Claire scored the first three points of the fifth game before UW-Whitewater finally sided out. After tying the score at 7-7, the Warhawks pulled ahead 12-8 after a three-point scoring run. UW-Eau Claire responded with a four point scoring spree to knot the score at 12-12. The game was tied 13-13 and 14-14 before a kill by Kim Fruit gave the Warhawks a 15-14 lead. UW-Eau Claire lost the match on a hitting error. Both teams had nine kills in the game, including seven by the Blugolds' Molly Menard.

The Warhawks were led by a trio of double-digit kill performances. Alison Miller led the team with 17 kills, while Rebekah Nelson had 16 and Fruit 13. Abbie Mueller dished out 59 assists and added 14 digs. Cassie Uttech finished with a match-high five service aces and counted 11 digs. The Warhawks also received 17 digs from Fruit, 15 digs from Abby Schultz and 12 blocks from Carley Polk.

The Blugolds received 24 kills from Menard and 56 assists and 25 digs from Carly Freiborg. Carly's sister, Abby, scooped up 18 digs and Shanna Berger 20. Jenny Wolter slammed home 17 kills, while Jessica Groh added a double-double with 13 kills and 10 blocks.

UW-Eau Claire held advantages of 74-70 in kills and .237-.172 in hitting percentage, but couldn't overcome 14 receiving errors. UW-Eau Claire, which opened the regional with wins of 3-0 over Lakeland College and 3-1 over the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, also topped UW-Whitewater in digs by a 93-75 count.

UW-Whitewater 3, UW-Platteville 0

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's volleyball team advanced to the championship match of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional by sweeping University of Wisconsin-Platteville, 3-0, on Friday (Nov. 11) in Oshkosh, Wis. The Warhawks won the second round contest over their Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) rival in game scores of 30-26, 30-26, 30-21.

Top-seed UW-Platteville opened game one by jumping out to an 8-4 lead. Fourth-seed UW-Whitewater then scored 10 of the next 14 points to take a 14-12 advantage. Following five straight points by the Pioneers and then seven consecutive points by the Warhawks, UW-Whitewater built a 21-17 lead and held on the rest of the game. UW-Whitewater hit .250 in its opening game, compared to just .064 for UW-Platteville.

UW-Platteville, which defeated UW-Whitewater last Friday (Nov. 4) in the semifinal round of the WIAC Tournament, took a 13-10 lead in game two after overcoming a 10-6 deficit. UW-Whitewater bounced back to take a 23-18 lead and controlled the game the rest of the way. The Warhawks hit .163 in the second game, while the Pioneers hit just .058.

UW-Platteville sprinted to leads of 8-5 and 11-9 in game three before UW-Whitewater rallied back to take a 20-14 advantage after a 6-0 scoring run. The Warhawks scored seven of the last nine points to close the scoring for the game and the match. UW-Whitewater hit .243 in game three, compared to just .049 for UW-Platteville.

UW-Platteville had a 40-38 advantage in kills, but committed 19 more hitting errors than the Warhawks. UW-Whitewater ended the match hitting .216, compared to just .057 for UW-Platteville.

Rebekah Nelson led UW-Whitewater with nine kills, while Alison Mueller added eight and Cassie Uttech seven. Abbie Mueller totaled a team-high 27 assists and Abby Schultz a team-best 14 digs.

UW-Platteville was led by the 13 kills of Rachel Chapman, 35 assists of Kelley Laschinger and 19 digs of Miranda Hall. The Pioneers also received 11 digs, six kills and two assists from Carrie Morschauser.

UW-Whitewater takes a 36-4 record into Saturday's (Nov. 12) Midwest Regional championship match with second-seed University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The contest will be played at 7 p.m. in Oshkosh. The Blugolds (30-4) advanced to their title match with the Warhawks by defeating University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 3-1, in the other semifinal held Friday in Oshkosh.

The Midwest Regional champion joins seven other regional champions in Salem, Va., next Thursday (Nov. 17) for quarterfinal round action of the 60-team NCAA Division III Championship.

UW-Eau Claire 3, UW-Oshkosh 1

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team will play in the championship match of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional after defeating Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 3-1, on Friday (Nov. 11) in Oshkosh, Wis. The second-seeded Blugolds won the contest over the third-seeded Titans in game scores of 30-26, 30-21, 17-30, 30-26.

UW-Oshkosh overcame an 8-4 deficit in game one by scoring nine of the next 11 points to take a 13-10 lead. UW-Eau Claire rallied back to take a 16-15 lead and held the advantage the rest of the game. The Titans pulled to within 26-24, but the Blugolds captured the victory by scoring four of the game's final six points. UW-Oshkosh hit .270 in the game with 15 kills, while UW-Eau Claire hit .240 with 20 kills.

UW-Eau Claire jumped to a 9-3 lead in game two, but UW-Oshkosh stormed back with a 9-3 scoring run of its own to even the count at 12-12. The Blugolds pulled away from a 20-19 lead by scoring 10 of the game's final 12 points. UW-Eau Claire hit .308 in the game with 16 kills, while UW-Oshkosh hit a match-low .132 with just 10 kills.

UW-Oshkosh never trailed in game three as it increased a 6-5 lead into a 17-8 advantage. The Titans led 25-17 before rattling off five unanswered points to win the game. UW-Oshkosh hit a match-high .424 in the game with 17 kills. UW-Eau Claire hit just .154 with 14 kills.

Game four was tied 14 times, with the last being 23-23. UW-Eau Claire ended the game and the match by scoring seven of the last 10 points. The Blugolds hit .395 in the game with 14 kills, while the Titans hit .200 with 15 kills.

UW-Eau Claire hit .275 for the match. The Blugolds also totaled 71 kills, 66 assists, 60 digs and 10 blocks. UW-Oshkosh hit .250 for the match with 57 kills, 63 digs, 55 assists and 15 blocks.

Jenny Wolter totaled 21 kills to lead the Blugolds, while Jodi Dunbar and Molly Menard added 14 each and Jessica Groh 11. The Blugolds also benefited from the 52 assists, 12 digs and seven kills of Carly Freiborg and the 27 digs of Shanna Berger.

Katie Beining had 19 kills and eight digs for the Titans, while Leah Rosenbaum contributed 12 kills and three solo blocks. UW-Oshkosh also received 48 assists, 14 digs and two service aces from Ashley Fischer, 17 digs from Samantha Schmidt and 10 kills from Kim Vail. Schmidt concluded the year with 804 digs, a new WIAC single-season record.

The loss to UW-Eau Claire ended UW-Oshkosh's 10th NCAA Division III postseason appearance. The Titans, who were picked to finish seventh in the WIAC standings at the beginning of the year, finished the 2005 season with a 36-5 record. The won-lost mark was UW-Oshkosh's best since a 40-5 record in 1996.

UW-Eau Claire takes a 30-4 record into Saturday's (Nov. 12) Midwest Regional title match with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (36-4), another WIAC enemy. The contest will be played at 7 p.m. in Oshkosh. UW-Whitewater advanced to the championship match with UW-Eau Claire by sweeping the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. 3-0, in the other semifinal held Friday in Oshkosh.

The Midwest Regional champion joins seven other regional champions in Salem, Va., next Thursday (Nov. 17) for quarterfinal round action of the 60-team NCAA Division III Championship.

UW-Whitewater 3, Elmhurst College 0

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater opened play in the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Midwest Regional by posting a 30-24, 30-23, 30-23 win over Elmhurst College (Ill.) on Thursday (Nov 10) in Oshkosh, Wis. UW-Whitewater, seeded fourth in the eight-team regional, improved its record to 35-4 with the victory. Elmhurst College, the regional's fifth seed, closed its 2005 season with a 31-10 record.

UW-Whitewater never trailed in the match after an 11-11 tie in game one. Elmhurst College slipped to 1-11 against UW-Whitewater since the 2000 season.

Game one began with UW-Whitewater jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Trailing 5-1, Elmhurst College rattled off six of the next seven points to take a 7-6 advantage. UW-Whitewater evened the score and the two teams traded points until the count was even at 11. The Warhawks ran off the next five points to grab a 16-11 advantage and never looked back. UW-Whitewater ran its lead to as many as six points on five occasions, with Elmhurst College getting no closer than four points the rest of the way.

UW-Whitewater never trailed in game two, storming out to an 11-5 advantage. Elmhurst College scored six of the next seven points to pull within 12-11, but UW-Whitewater responded by winning the next four points to take a 16-11 lead. The Bluejays never got closer than a 17-15 tally. UW-Whitewater built its lead to three points at 22-19 and then began to pull away, winning eight of the final 12 points to take the game.

Game three started close as the score was even after the first 12 points. UW-Whitewater then reeled off a 10-3 scoring run to take a 16-9 lead. Elmhurst College rallied back by scoring seven straight points to knot the score at 16. UW-Whitewater came right back winning eight of the next 10 points to grab a 24-18 lead. The two teams traded points the rest of the way, with Whitewater taking the game by seven points.

UW-Whitewater hit .220 for the match, compared to just .000 for Elmhurst College. The Warhawks committed just 15 hitting errors, while Elmhurst College tallied 31.

Rebekah Nelson led the Warhawks with 10 kills, 14 digs and eight blocks. Allison Miller added eight kills and five blocks while Cassie Uttech and Carley Polk each finished with seven kills. Polk also added eight blocks in the win. Abbie Mueller led UW-Whitewater with 35 assists and five service aces, while adding 14 digs and six kills. Kim Fruit also finished with 14 digs.

Erin Whitehead led Elmhurst College with 11 kills and 14 digs. Katie Ackerman and Nicole Carlson each finished with six kills. Carlson also contributed 10 digs, while Jessica Nelson finished with 14 digs. Lindsay Johnson led the Bluejays with 28 assists and 15 digs.

UW-Whitewater will face top-seed UW-Platteville (29-7) in the regional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 11) in Oshkosh.

The second-seeded University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's volleyball team swept through its first match of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional by defeating seventh-seed Lakeland College (Wis.), 3-0, on Thursday (Nov. 10) in Oshkosh, Wis. The Blugolds took the match in game scores of 30-21, 30-19, 30-23.

The Blugolds and the Muskies kept relatively close in the first game. Each team made a couple of small runs, but hung in until the score was 21-20 in favor of UW-Eau Claire. The Blugolds then went on a 9-1 scoring run to capture game one. They hit .175 with 14 kills and seven errors. Lakeland College had a .176 hitting percentage, 12 kills, and six errors.

UW-Eau Claire then ran away with game two. At 9-8, the Blugolds never looked back and led for the rest of the match. The hitting percentage came in at .455 with 18 kills and three errors. Game two saw a .063 game for the Muskies. They also had 10 kills and eight errors.

UW-Eau Claire had a fast start in the last game, going up 12-4. The Blugolds finished strong as well with a 9-3 scoring run to finish off the match. UW-Eau Claire hit .324, had 15 kills, and committed four errors. The Muskies were held to a .049 hitting percentage and 11 kills. They had nine errors.

For UW-Eau Claire, Molly Menard dominated play by having 18 kills. Jodi Dunbar was behind her at 13 kills. Carly Freiborg had the most assists with 41. Shanna Berger led in digs with 10, while Jessie Groh totaled a team-best seven blocks.

For Lakeland, Heather Heberlein led the team with 15 kills. Lana Neuman had 20 of the Muskies 30 assists. Leading the team in digs was Ashley Domask with a total of 16.

The Blugolds had 11 blocks, while the Muskies had six. UW-Eau Claire also had advantages of 47-33 in kills and .308-.093 in hitting percentage.

Lakeland College ended its season with a 23-16 record. The Muskies' loss to the Blugolds concluded their fourth NCAA Division III postseason appearance.

UW-Eau Claire takes a 29-4 record into its regional semifinal against third-seed UW-Oshkosh (36-4). The match will be played at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 11) in Oshkosh.

Big scoring runs by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's volleyball team were the story of the match as the top-seeded Pioneers dispatched eighth-seed St. Norbert College (Wis.) in an opening round contest of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional held Thursday (Nov. 10) in Oshkosh, Wis.

UW-Platteville took the match by a 3-0 count, winning games of 30-19. 30-23, 30-17. It was just the second NCAA Division III postseason win for the Pioneers.

UW-Platteville led the first game 15-11 before going on a 10-2 run to take firm control. St. Norbert College led 20-18 in the second game before the Pioneers reeled off an eight-point skein for a 26-20 lead. The Pioneers then parlayed an 11-8 lead in game three into a 21-11 advantage as the impetus to the sweep.

St. Norbert College hit just .055 (31-24-128) for the match. Joanna Mamayek had nine kills, while Kate Meehan had seven kills and hit .318 (7-0-22). Jess Radocay finished with 17 digs, giving her a career total of 2,556, good for sixth-best all-time in NCAA Division III history.

UW-Platteville hit a strong .241 in the match and had eight blocks. Dana Alf led the Pioneers with 14 kills, with Rachel Schueller adding 11 kills. Kelly Laschinger had a match-high 42 assists, while libero Miranda Hall added 22 digs.

UW-Platteville (29-7), which moved its winning streak to 10, advances to play fourth-seeded UW Whitewater (35-4) in a regional semifinal at 4:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 11) in Oshkosh. UW-Platteville and UW-Whitewater split their 2005 meetings. The Warhawks won the regular season meeting 3-1, while the Pioneers claimed a 3-2 victory in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament held last Friday (Nov. 4) in Whitewater.

St. Norbert College, which had won 12 consecutive matches entering the Midwest Regional, ends its season with a 30-7 record.

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh women's volleyball team overcame a 9-7 deficit in the fifth and deciding game to edge Carthage College (Wis.), 3-2, in an opening round contest of the NCAA Division III Midwest Regional held Thursday (Nov. 10) in Oshkosh, Wis.

UW-Oshkosh improved its record to 36-4 on the season by ousting Carthage College in game scores of 27-30, 30-19, 30-22, 25-30, 15-13. The victory advances the third-seeded Titans to the regional semifinal, where they'll meet second-seed UW-Eau Claire (29-4) at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 11) in Oshkosh.

Carthage College, which also lost a 3-2 decision to UW-Oshkosh in the 1990 NCAA Division III Championship, ends the season with a 30-7 record. The Lady Reds were seeded sixth in the Midwest Regional.

In game one, Carthage College jumped out to a 9-4 lead and still led by five, 12-7, before the Titans tied the game, 14-14. Carthage College led by no more than three points before UW-Oshkosh tied things up at 24-24. The Lady Reds ran off four straight points to take a 28-24 lead. Trailing by four, 29-25, the Titans closed to within two, 29-27, before Carthage College closed things out at 30-27. Carthage College held a 22-15 advantage in kills in the game.

In game two, UW-Oshkosh opened up a 7-2 lead. Carthage College tied the game, 9-9, before the Titans opened up an eight-point lead, 19-11 Leading by four, 23-19, the Titans ran off seven-straight points to win game two, 30-19. UW-Oshkosh had five service aces in the game.

Game three started out as tight, with neither team leading by more than two points until UW-Oshkosh took a five-point lead, 18-13. The Titans extended their margin to seven, 24-17, and Carthage College got no closer than five, 25-20, as the Titans went on to win by eight points, 30-22. UW-Oshkosh had a 18-12 advantage in kills in the game.

In game four, the Lady Reds jumped out to a 13-6 lead. UW-Oshkosh closed to within four, 14-10, before Carthage College went back up by seven, 19-12. The Titans went on 6-2 run to make it a three-point contest, 21-18. Carthage College had another three-point lead, 22-19, before using a 6-3 run to go back up by seven, 28-21, en route to a 30-25 decision. UW-Oshkosh held a 16-14 advantage in kills in the game, but was outhit .458 to .222.

In game five, Carthage College led most of the way, albeit by a narrow margin. The Titans tied the game, 9-9, took their first lead, 10-9, and then went on a late spurt to take a three-point lead, 13-10. The Lady Reds cut the lead to two, 13-11. UW-Oshkosh went back up by three, 14-11. Carthage College made it a one-point game, 14-13, before the Titans won it, 15-13. UW-Oshkosh outhit Carthage College by a .471 to .250 count in the game.

UW-Oshkosh was led by Katie Beining, Ashley Fischer and Leah Rosenbaum. Beining totaled 18 kills, 11 digs and three service aces, while Fischer compiled 56 assists, 15 digs and six blocks. Rosenbaum tabulated 20 kills and six blocks. The Titans also received 12 kills and three blocks from Kim Vail and 12 digs and 11 kills from Megan Galonski.

The Lady Reds were led by Emily Cahoon who had 43 assists and 15 digs. Kelly Bauer had 19 kills and four service aces, Becky Handley 26 digs and Lauren Eggert 12 kills and 25 digs. Tiffany Thorsell and Jenny Lachman each had five blocks.

Both teams totaled 70 kills and 66 assists in the evenly played match. UW-Oshkosh pulled out the win by hitting .283, compared to .237 for Carthage College. The Lady Reds held advantages of 86-73 in digs and 12-10 in service aces.