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The No. 11 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team opened postseason play Tuesday night with a 25-12, 25-18, 25-19 victory over UW-Stout in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship tournament at Russell Arena.
 
The third-seeded Warhawks (29-4 overall) advance to the semifinals, where they'll face No. 2 seed UW-La Crosse Friday at 5 p.m. at top seed UW-Oshkosh.
 
UW-Whitewater finished with a .300 hitting percentage and nine blocks and limited the Blue Devils (16-18), the tournament's No. 6 seed, to .019. The Warhawks held a 45-25 advantage in team kills.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot) posted a team-high 11 kills. Junior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) tallied 10 kills and nine digs, while sophomore middle hitter Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) registered nine kills with a .474 hitting percentage and a team-best six blocks.
 
Junior setter Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) collected four kills, 37 assists, four digs and three blocks. Freshman middle hitter Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) pitched in with six kills and three blocks.
 
Freshman libero Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) led the defense with 17 digs, and senior defensive specialist Jaclyn Krizka (Roscoe, Ill./Hononegah) contributed 12 digs. Robinson and Krizka added three assists apiece.
 
UW-Whitewater stormed out to a 10-3 advantage in the first set on Pfeifer's serve, and closed the set with six straight points on Krizka's serve with the help of a pair of kills by Wagner.
 
In the second, the two teams traded runs before the Warhawks turned an 8-8 tie into a 14-8 lead thanks to two more kills by Wagner. UW-Whitewater never led by fewer than four points the rest of the period.
 
The Warhawks jumped out to a 7-3 advantage in the third before UW-Stout climbed back, narrowing its deficit to one point midway through. A 7-2 run made the score 19-14 and helped UW-Whitewater retake control of the set and eventually clinch the match.
 
The Warhawks will seek revenge Friday against UW-La Crosse after the Eagles claimed a three-set victory in the regular season match between the two teams on Oct. 28.
 
The winner of Friday's semifinal advances to Saturday's final, which is set for a 2:30 p.m. start. The non-advancing team will compete in the third-place match, which is scheduled for Saturday at noon.