Rockhurst will return to the NCAA Elite Eight Thursday as they face Flagler at 5:00 PM CST.
NCAA Elite Eight
#5 Rockhurst vs. #4 Flagler
Thursday, December 7, 5:00 PM CST
Pensacola, FL
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NCAA Midwest Regional Champions
Rockhurst won their second NCAA Midwest Regional Championship last Saturday (December 2). The third-seeded Hawks beat Bellarmine and Findlay to advance to the Championship against the fourth-ranked Lewis Flyers.
Rockhurst split the first two sets with Lewis, before winning the third set 25-19. Rockhurst capped off the night with a 29-27 win in the fourth set after rallying from a 20-13 deficit.
Emily Matio posted a kill to end the set and match in favor of the Hawks.
"We chipped away in the fourth set," said Rockhurst head coach
Tracy Rietzke. "We put pressure on them. That is a huge comeback on a great team. I thought our defense was the key to our victory. We dug a lot of balls. We kept the ball in play."
Karli Reichert led the Hawks with 17 kills and four blocks, and
Alyssa Woodman finished with 14 kills and 13 digs.
Mary Rolf and
Audrey Arand combined for 16 kills and six blocks.
Grace Carter collected 51 assists and 19 digs.
Anne Hellwege had a team-high 22 digs, and
Kalie Arnold added 14 digs. Reichert, Woodman, and Carter were named to the All-Region team.
Grace Carter,
Karli Reichert, and
Alyssa Woodman were all name to the All-Region team.
About Rockhurst
The GLVC West champions enter the week 31-7, including a 14-4 record in conference. Rockhurst has won 13 of its last 14 matches.
The Hawks advanced to the GLVC Tournament Championship, before falling to Lewis in five sets.
Five different Hawks earned GLVC honors.
Alyssa Woodman,
Grace Carter,
Anne Hellwege, Karli Reichert and
Mary Rolf all earned All-GLVC Second Team honors.
National Leaders
Rockhurst is among the national leaders in various categories. The Hawks are third in kills (1,892), fourth in assists (1,781) and rank seventh in total attacks (5,002). They also are 19th in the country in assists per set, 12th in hitting percentage, and 16th in kills per set.
Alyssa Woodman led the Hawks with 1,322 total attacks, good for 27th in the country.
Anne Hellwege, the school's all-time digs leaders, is 18th in the country in total digs.
2015 Elite Eight
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.
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.
Coach Tracy Rietzke
Tracy Rietzke has led the Hawks for 30 years. Rietzke became the fifth volleyball coach in NCAA history to rack up 1,200 wins in a career on October 27. RU has averaged more than 34 wins per season and advanced to post-season play 23 times under Rietzke. He is currently the fourth-winningest women's volleyball coach in NCAA history.
About Flagler
#4 Flagler enters the weekend as winners of 22 consecutive matches. The Southeast Region Champions hold a 27-3 record.
The Saints are led by D2CCA Southeast Region Player of the Year Sara Davis. Davis ranks sixth in the nation in hitting percentage with a .406 mark.
Flagler and Rockhurst share one common opponent. Flagler beat Findlay on the road in September 3-2, while the Hawks swept the Oilers this past weekend in the Regional Semifinals.
Next Up
#5 Rockhurst/#4 Flagler vs. #1 Concordia- St. Paul/#8 New Haven
Friday, December 8, TBD
Pensacola, FL
