GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.  – The Davenport volleyball team's first ever Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference regular-season championship trophy has company.
 
The 15^th-ranked Panthers picked up a pair of 3-0 victories over Aquinas and No. 16 Madonna in the semifinal and championship round, respectively, to clinch the program's first WHAC Tournament championship at the Student Center Saturday afternoon.
 
Davenport (34-7), which already has a spot to the upcoming NAIA National Opening Round last week after clinching one of the conference's two automatic bids last week with the regular-season title, will know who and where it will play in the selection show Monday at 1 p.m. EST through NAIA.org.
 
Hannah Stone had combined for 21 kills in the two matches, Krissy Dill and Molly Lameyer both added 20 and Marcey DeHaan contributed to 15. Dill also collected 76 digs and Amber Getty tallied 76 assists.
 
WHAC Tournament Semifinal – Davenport 3, Aquinas 0 (31-29, 25-14, 29-27)
Davenport quickly jumped up front to a 9-3 lead but costly mistakes by the Panthers allowed Aquinas to come back. After seven lead changes, DU held on to win the first set 31-29. Although the Panthers dominated the second set 25-14, the Saints bounced back in the third to keep their season alive.
 
The Saints came within one point from forcing a fourth set but kills by Marcey DeHaan and Molly Lameyer knot it up at 24 and forced extra sets for the second time in the match. Rylee Kuiphoff and Hannah Stone both tallied a kill to win the set 29-27.
 
Newcomer of the Year Krissy Dill finished with a double-double of 10 kills and 23 digs, Stone and DeHaan both led the Panthers with 11 kills and Lameyer contributed 10 to round out the Panthers in double figures. Amber Getty was credited for 43 assists.
 
WHAC Tournament Championship – Davenport 3, Madonna 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-19)
Davenport took a 5-1 lead to start the match but a 5-point run allowed the Crusaders to gain the lead for the first time and both teams went back-and-forth six times. The Crusaders had a 21-17 lead late in the set but attacking errors gave the Panthers the momentum to take a 25-21 win.
 
Dill also had a double-double against the Crusaders, recording 10 kills and digs each. Lameyer and Stone also had 10 kills in the match. Maddy Cassleman led the pack with 14 digs while Getty had 33 assists.
 
Post-Match Notes
Davenport will be making its second appearance in the NAIA National Opening Round, with the last being in 2012
 
Volleyball Contact: McCall Salmon | 616-554-5045 | msalmon@davenport.edu
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