The UW-La Crosse Eagles volleyball team recently took to Mitchell Hall to battle the visiting Warhawks of UW-Whitewater in a WIAC conference match Wednesday, Oct. 22.  This was the 68th match-up between the two teams with UW-W leading the overall series with a record of 36-31.  UW-W has also won four out of the last five, with UW-L’s most recent victory in the series a home win in 2012.  The UW-L Concert Choir gave a very spirited rendition of the National Anthem, and once concluded, the night was all business.
In game one, the match was very much back and forth and UW-L was able to build a nice 16-13 lead that forced UW-W to use their first timeout in an effort to regroup and attempt to cool off.  It appeared to be an effective strategy, because UW-W went on an 8-2 run to take the lead. UW-L would battle back fiercely, drawing the game within two points, but UW-W would shut the door with a block at the net to take the first game 25-22.
Switching sides for game two found UW-W with momentum from winning the first game and the loss affecting the confidence of UW-L.  UW-W jumped out to a 10-6 lead early on, but UW-L used great net play and awareness to draw within two. That is the closest they would come as UW-W would turn up the intensity and take game two 25-16 and clinching the match victory in the process.
With UW-L looking to avoid the sweep in game three, the team came out hot.  UW-L scored the game’s first five points to take a 5-0 lead. UW-W would, however, score six of the next seven points.  The match would continue with the same back and forth action that paced much of the matchup, but would ultimately end on a low note  as UW-W was able to stop a late UW-L rally to complete the sweep and take game three 25-20.
UW-W utilized their height advantage to set up blocks at the net and it was one of the main reasons why they are able to complete the sweep and keep UW-L from stealing one at home against the 23rd ranked team.
“UW-[W] is definitely a taller team, [and] we try and be smarter than our opponents,” said coach Lillian Hallock. “That comes through scouting, paying attention to tenancies and figuring out how we can take advantage of those tenancies.  Being 5’4” myself, I know that you can always find a way to win, even if the opponent has a height advantage.”
Ida Steingas, sophomore, led UW-L with 13 kills with sophomore Ashley Entinger behind her with seven kills.  Freshman Maddie Entinger led the team in assists with 20, while fellow freshman Paige Schmidt tacked on 10 for UW-L. Courtney Geisler, the team’s Libero donning the black jersey, led UW-L with five digs.