Related Links:
WIAC Women's Volleyball Championship Web Page
 
The No. 11 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater volleyball team dug out of a 2-1 match deficit Thursday night en route to a thrilling 28-26, 23-25, 14-25, 25-20, 15-10 victory over 17th-ranked UW-Stevens Point in the semifinals of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship presented by Culver's at Kris Russell Volleyball Arena.
 
With the win, the top-seeded Warhawks (26-6 overall) will host No. 2 seed UW-La Crosse in the tournament title match Saturday at 5 p.m. at Russell Arena.
 
With the fourth set tied at 20-20, UW-Whitewater tallied five straight points, highlighted by kills from sophomore middle hitter Kelley Berk (Cedarburg, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) and junior right side hitter Sydney Racky (Walworth, Wis./Big Foot), to force a decisive fifth set.
 
The Warhawks scored four of the first five points and never trailed in the period. Senior outside hitter Lauren Pfeifer (Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson) posted her third kill of the set to end the match.
 
Pfeifer collected 17 kills, 17 digs and four blocks, while Racky finished with 17 kills on a .412 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks.
 
Freshman outside hitter Amanda Spera (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) registered 10 kills, and junior middle hitter Courtney Wagner (Dekalb, Ill./Dekalb) totaled seven kills, two service aces and a team-best six blocks.
 
Senior setter Staci Hasler (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls) finished with five kills, 12 digs and 51 assists, her second-highest output of the season.
 
Sophomore libero Brittany Robinson (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Menomonee Falls) contributed a season-high 34 digs, and freshman defensive specialist Elizabeth Tworek (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic) added 15 digs.
 
The two teams exchanged runs early in the first set before UW-Whitewater broke a 15-15 tie with four straight points on Pfeifer's serve to take a 19-15 advantage.
 
The Pointers (27-7) rallied to tie the set at 24-24, and the Warhawks fought off two set points and eventually finished the period with back-to-back blocks by Spera/Wagner and Wagner/Hasler.
 
UW-Stevens Point claimed five of the last six points in the second set to level the match at 1-1, and jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the third en route to a 2-1 match lead.
 
UW-Whitewater enters Saturday's final on a seven-match win streak and with a 16-0 home record in 2016. The Warhawks swept UW-La Crosse on Oct. 26 in the only match played between the two teams this season.
 
UW-La Crosse (22-4) downed UW-Oshkosh in four sets Thursday night to claim its spot in the final.