Last year the UW-Stevens Point volleyball team won the Midwest Regional to reach the national tournament for the first time in program history.
The sixth-ranked Pointers had so much fun, they decided to do it again.
Point (32-4) avenged a September loss with a 17-5, 25-20, 25-19, 19-25, 15-11 triumph over 26-7 Cornell College, Iowa, in the finals. UW-SP won its 20th consecutive match.
MHS grad Bri Piepenbrock, a Pointer sophomore, is a defensive specialist for the squad. She has 425 digs through regional play, second on the team, to go with 14 aces. Bri matched her career high with 20 digs in the match, second on the team only to libero Hannah Picel.
“It’s amazing,” Piepenbrock said. “To be able to go back to nationals… unreal.
“I definitely gives us more confidence. We know what we need to do. If we go play Point volleyball our way, we’re going to be successful. We hope to do even better than last year.”
Last year, the Pointers knocked off Hope in the first round before losing to Cal. Lutheran in the Final Four. UW-SP faces #17 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Friday’s Elite Eight opener in Newport News, Vir., and could see #2 Hope in the second round. Hope plays #15 Clarkson in the first round. Cal did not reach nationals.
Point reached the regional finals with three-set triumphs over Saint Benedict and Coe College.
“This has been an incredible weekend and very exciting for her and her team,” her mother, Joleta Wesbrock said. “Bri is a wonderful passer and server on the team. She’s played in every match both last year and this year and is a starter.”
UW-SP tied with UW-Whitewater in the dual season and defeated the Warhawks in the tournament for the WIAC Championship. It was the Pointers’ second-consecutive title.