Falcons Sunk by No. 7-Ranked Warhawks

Written by CUW Student Assistant Lance Schulteis

WHITEWATER, Wis. – The Concordia Wisconsin women's volleyball team took a loss at Wisconsin-Whitewater on Tuesday night, falling to the perennial juggernaut and No. 7 Warhawks in a contest that dropped the Falcons to 12-10 on the season.

Having won nine of their last 12 matches, the Falcons entered the contest seeking to utilize their momentum to upset a Warhawks team that had only lost twice in their 2023 season. Having entered the last seven meetings between the two programs with a number aside their name, the Warhawks were seeking their fifth consecutive win over Concordia and 11th consecutive overall.

As was the theme for all three sets, the Falcons were able to keep pace early on, but UW-Whitewater managed to pull away late on all three occasions, taking the sets by 25-17, 25-19, and 25-17 margins.

Just over halfway through the first set, senior Jenna Weinfurt registered her 300th kill of the season for the Warhawks, the third such season of her career. Late in the third set she would also record a milestone, notching her 1000th career kill, just the seventeenth player in program history to accomplish the feat.

Despite falling in the first set, Concordia collected points on five of the frame's last seven points, a spurt of momentum that they sought to carry into the second set after flipping the court.

Accomplishing just that, the Falcons were able to keep the Warhawks on their toes, leading as late as 13-12. However, Concordia was immediately met by a 13-6 run by UW-Whitewater, highlighted by kills from five different Warhawks.

Determined to end the match in three sets, the Warhawks took the first four points of the third set and didn't relinquish the lead, securing the 25-17 victory.

In response to what seemed to be a kill battle with Weinfurt throughout the match, Falcons sophomore Stella Zarling (West Bend, Wis.) recorded six kills of her own in the first set. Her 15 total kills would fall one shy of Weinfurt's match-best 16.

Zarling would also lead the Falcons in service aces with two, while sophomore Mickenzi Benter (De Pere, Wis.) led the team with 25 assists.

Concordia will be back in action on Thursday, October 19, set to take on a conference foe in the 10-9 Benedictine Eagles.