WHITEWATER, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire volleyball team fell to UW-Whitewater 3-0 on Friday in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship. The defeat at the hands of the sixth-ranked Warhawks ended the 24th-ranked Blugolds' season on the second day of the NCAA Tournament.
The Warhawks defeated the Blugolds 25-12, 25-23, 25-21. They held UW-Eau Claire to a .099 hitting percentage while hitting .220 themselves.
"Hats off to Whitewater," UW-Eau Claire Head Coach
Kim Wudi said. "They had us on the ropes — not to use the boxing analogy, but they had our backs against the wall. They're a great team, one of the best in the country for a reason."
It was the seventh national postseason meeting between the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) opponents, and the Warhawks moved on to the round of 16 with the victory.
Mya Cinnamo (So. – Rosemount, Minn.) led the Blugolds with 18 kills. Cinnamo was named to the all-tournament team for the regional.
Ella Kiebel (Jr. – Maple Grove, Minn.) had 36 assists, and
Bailey Leeke (Jr. – Lakeville, Minn./North) made 13 digs.
A run of six straight points gave the Warhawks the momentum in the opening set. It turned an 11-9 advantage into a 17-9 lead, and the Blugolds couldn't recover. UW-Whitewater outscored UW-Eau Claire 14-3 across the final 17 points of the set.
The Blugolds erased an eight-point deficit in the second set. UW-Whitewater opened with an 11-3 run, but UW-Eau Claire rallied with help from plenty of kills by Cinnamo,
Abby Stanwood (Jr. – Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) and
Darienne Andre (Jr. – Lakeville, Minn./Rosemount) to tie the set at 21. With the score later tied at 23, the Warhawks took the final two points to open a 2-0 set lead.
UW-Eau Claire went toe-to-toe with UW-Whitewater in the third set and led 17-16 down the stretch. An 8-2 run by the Warhawks flipped it though, and the Blugolds could only save two match points before UW-Whitewater put it away.
The loss ended another standout season for the Blugolds. They reached the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
"Last year we weren't in this position, and I think that it was just a really cool opportunity," Cinnamo said. "I think we can learn a lot of things from the opponents that we faced and the hard things we went through to carry through to next season."
The Blugolds were among the final 32 teams remaining in the country for the 10th time since the turn of the century.
"The culture of the team is just really special," Kiebel said. "I think we rely really heavily on tradition, and that's something we take a lot of pride in. I just think we do it really well and it makes us be a team on and off the court. I think this program is really special because they see you as people, as humans, and not just a volleyball player or a number. I think that really relays how we play on the court and how we play together."
