Hawks end season with loss in national quarterfinals

Katie Loescher led the Hawks with 13 kills in the national quarterfinals.

Box Score The Rockhurst Hawks suffered a 3-1 loss to 16th-ranked Western Washington in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship Thursday at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center in Tampa, Florida.

The seventh-ranked Hawks finish one of their best seasons in school history with a 34-4 record.

"Our team had a great run this year. It's unfortunate that we came out on the short end," said Rockhurst coach Tracy Rietzke. "We made a few too many mistakes It just wasn't our day. That was not typical of our team."

Western Washington ended the fourth set on a 7-0 run to clinch the match with a 25-22 victory. The Hawks also dropped the second and third sets, 25-17 and 25-14. Rockhurst won the first set, 25-20.

Senior middle hitter Katie Loescher led the Hawks with 13 kills and a .385 hitting percentage. Alyssa Arnold posted a team-high 23 digs, in addition to collecting 12 kills.

"We didn't want this to be our last game," Loescher said. "I was getting hot along with Alyssa, and Whitney (Kostal) kept feeding us the ball."

Anne Hellwege added 21 digs. Whitney Kostal posted 41 assists, 16 digs and six blocks. Preecy Seever, the AVCA Division II National Player of the Year, tallied eight kills and a team-high eight blocks.

Rockhurst hit a season-low .126 for the match, while Western Washington (27-5) finished with a .223 hitting percentage.

"It's bittersweet. I put in a hard four years," Arnold said. "I will miss it a lot. I feel like we have left a good legacy at Rockhurst."

Post-Game Press Conference

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

#12 Alyssa Arnold: RS; 5' 10"; Senior; H2

#3 Anne Hellwege: L; 5' 5"; Sophomore; Rockwood Thunder

#6 Whitney Kostal: S; 5' 8"; Senior; Nebraska Elite

#11 Katie Loescher: MH; 5' 10"; Senior; Heartland

#7 Preecy Seever: MH; 6' 0"; Senior; KC Extreme

Players Mentioned

#12 Alyssa Arnold
: 5' 10"; Senior; H2
: RS

#3 Anne Hellwege
: 5' 5"; Sophomore; Rockwood Thunder
: L

#6 Whitney Kostal
: 5' 8"; Senior; Nebraska Elite
: S

#11 Katie Loescher
: 5' 10"; Senior; Heartland
: MH

#7 Preecy Seever
: 6' 0"; Senior; KC Extreme
: MH