CUW Wraps Up Play at Whitewater

WHITEWATER, Wis. – The CUW women's volleyball team took on No. 15 Wisconsin-Whitewater and Coe on the second day of the Dig Panici Classic.

The 15th-ranked Warhawks came out early with a 25-16, set one win.  The set saw junior Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.) record five kills and senior Erika Natzke (Morton Grove, Ill.) with six assists.

The Falcons looked to bounce back in the second set, but the Warhawks proved why they're ranked in the top 25 with a 25-11 victory.  The set saw a nine-point run by the Warhawks.  Both Karpfinger and freshman Stella Zarling (West Bend, Wis.) led the Blue and White in the set with two kills.

The Falcons showed some grit in set three with an extra-point victory at 26-24.  Senior Sophia Collins (Lake Mills, Wis.) led the team with four kills.  Natzke came through with six assists as well as two service aces.

In set three, the Blue and White had to overcome four match-points from the Warhawks. Natzke went back to serve with a 23-24 score and came out with a set victory with both aces being in that sequence.

The Warhawks came out hard in set four with a 25-16 final score and a 3-1 match final.  In this set, senior Sierra Lee (Kenosha, Wis.) recorded five assists with Karpfinger leading the Falcons with three kills.

Both Lee and Natzke were in the double digits for assists with Lee recording 14 and Natzke recording 16.  Karpfinger led the way for the Falcons with 12 kills on 21 swings.  Both Zarling and Collins were active on defense with 22 and 20 digs respectively.

The Falcons closed the day against Coe, who is receiving votes in the AVCA rankings.

The Falcons came out blazing in the first set and a kill from freshman Mickenzi Benter gave the Falcons a 12-5 lead. The Falcons lead shrunk, but a kill from Benter gave CUW the set at 25-21.

CUW jumped out to an early 8-2 lead in set two, but Coe rallied back to tie the set at eight. The Blue and White pushed the lead to 15-10, but Coe once again fought back and took the set, 25-21.

The Falcons learned their lesson and never trailed in the third set. CUW took the lead with a 25-21 victory.

After trailing for a majority of the fourth set, CUW took the lead at 23-22 with a kill from senior Hannah Himmelman. A service ace from Maycee Karpfinger gave the Falcons match point at 24-22. Coe rallied and won the next four points to force a fifth set and rode a 5-0 start to the fifth set to victory.

Senior Gabriella Kaebisch (Paddock Lake, Wis.) led the flock with 14 kills. Lee led CUW with 28 assists. Freshman Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) added 21 digs.

Maycee Karpfinger was named to the All-Tournament Team.

CUW looks to bounce back on Tuesday at Alverno.