The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
Pointer Volleyball Closes Regular Season with A Pair of Sweeps
On Oct. 25, the Pointer volleyball team celebrated the careers of their four seniors–Bri Piepenbrok, Marie Krengel, Gabby Thomas and Kelly Cefalu. Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen.
On Oct. 25, the team’s senior night, the No.17 ranked University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point volleyball team defeated Concordia in five sets by a score of 3-2.
The Pointers captured sets one and two but Concordia bounced back and claimed set victories in the next two sets.
After a late 4-0 run, senior Gabby Thomas closed off the fifth set with back-to-back kills to end the match.
Senior Kelly Cefalu’s match leading 22 kills put her over the 400 kill mark for the season. She becomes the seventh player in school history to do so.
Senior Bri Piepenbrok’s 31 digs in the match propelled her past the 600 dig mark on the season. She also joins rare company becoming only the sixth player in team history to reach this plateau.
In their match proceeding senior night, the Pointers faced off against UW-Stout on Oct. 28. UWSP claimed the match with a straight-set win after sweeping the Blue Devils.
Cefalu continued to be the dominant attacker for the Pointers, tallying 18 kills on the night. Junior Ellen Drewry was the only other Pointer with double-digit kills after posting 11 kills in the winning effort.
Piepenbrok’s 29 digs on the night moved her to 656 digs on the season and only 20 away from the team’s single season dig record.
Sophomore Brittany Laffin made the most of her time on the court, posting a season-high 27 assists for the Pointers.
This match win moved the Pointers into a three-way tie for fourth in league standings.
Most recently for Pointer volleyball, the team squared off against UW-River Falls, sweeping the Falcons in the regular season finale.
Piepenbrok notched 20 digs on the night to tie the single-season school record of 676. Laffin also came to play after posting her second-straight match with 27 assists.
The Pointers continuously improved their hitting percentage throughout the night while holding the Falcons to a negative hitting percentage for the duration of the match.
After tying for fourth in conference, the Pointers open the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament as the No. 5 seed against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 1.
Pointer Men’s Hockey Off to Hot Start
The UWSP men’s hockey team enters the regular season as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation and backed that ranking with a compelling 8-1 victory in the season opener over Aurora this past Friday.
Senior Kyle Sharkey got the scoring started for the Pointers only 42 seconds into the first period on a pass from senior Lawrence Cornellier.
The two players reversed rolls for the Pointers second goal of the period as Sharkey assisted Cornellier on his first score of the season. Cornellier scored again later in the second period
In his first career game as a Pointer, freshman Kelly O’Brien recorded a hat trick against Aurora University on Friday, Oct. 28 at KB Willett Arena in Stevens Point, Wis. Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen.
After an early score for Aurora in the second period, the Pointers rattled off six unanswered goals throughout the rest of the match.
Freshman Kelly O’Brien recorded his first career hat trick after notching a pair of power-play goals in the third period to cap off a stellar effort.
Seniors Jono Davis and Jacob Barber got in on the scoring with goals in the second and third period, respectively.
Point made good on power play opportunities, going 4-9 while Aurora was held to 1-7.
In the Pointers’ second game of the season, an overtime goal from sophomore Stephan Beauvais carried UWSP to a 3-2 victory over Lawrence on Saturday.
This was a monumental win for head coach Chris Brooks, as he now sits at 100 wins with UWSP hockey.
Barber initiated the scoring for the Pointers as he netted a goal 3:43 into the game.
Coming 17 seconds after Lawrence tied the game at one, Beauvais recorded his first goal of the night giving the Pointers a 2-1 lead.
Lawrence scored on a power play in the third period to send the game to overtime where Beauvais’s heroics sealed the win for UWSP.
Sophomore goaltender Jesse Gordichuk notched 12 saves for UWSP as the Pointers out-shot its opponent 43-14.
Next on the schedule, the Pointers will lace-up for a pair of non-conference games against Gustavus Adolphus and Bethel on Nov. 4 and 5.
Football Victorious in Comeback Effort
Rallying from a halftime deficit, the UWSP football team spoiled UW-La Crosse’s homecoming game by earning a 38-22 victory over the Eagles on Saturday.
After trailing 14-10 going into the third quarter, the Pointers went off for 28 second half points while only allowing one touchdown in that time.
The Eagles have been known for their pass defense all season, but UWSP senior quarterback Kyle Larson was not threatened as he threw for 387 passing yards and five touchdowns.
His longest connection of the day went to junior wide receiver Jerry Williams for an 82-yard touchdown. The Pointers now have seven different occasions on the season where they have scored on a play of 50 yards or more.
Sophomore Steve Herra and Williams both recorded over 100 receiving yards for the Pointers, accounting for three touchdowns as well. Senior Jared Pankow added 93 receiving yards of his own to put him over 600 yards on the season.
The Pointers defensive effort was highlighted by six players posting six or more tackles and junior Levi Singler with a team leading 2.5 tackles for loss.
The team will now return to Goerke Park on Nov. 5 for senior night against UW-Stout.
Soccer Struggles in Season Finale
The UWSP women’s soccer team ended their regular season on a low note as they fell to UW-Whitewater 3-0.
Pointer defense was no match for the Warkhawks, as goals were surrendered in the 18th and 32nd minute of play.
UW-Whitewater scored its final goal in the 64th minute of the game where they accomplished 28 shots on goal.
The Pointers were only able to record five shots on goal during play.
Women’s Hockey Comes Out Shooting
The UW-Stevens Point women’s hockey team fell in its season opener to St. Olaf 2-0 on Oct. 28.
The Pointers out-shot the Oles 28-18 but could not find the net for any of their attempts.
The Oles got on the scoreboard in the second period and added their second goal of the game on an empty net in the third period.
The Pointers offense propelled the team to a 5-2 victory in their rematch with St. Olaf and second match of the season on Saturday.
UWSP was able to take advantage of its 26 shots on goal and score in each period of the game.
Sophomore Cara Lemirande started the scoring on a power play opportunity in the first period.
Freshman Allison Karrmann and Maddie Monroe netted their first collegiate goals in the second period to put the Pointers ahead 3-0.
After allowing an Ole score, junior Ellie Punnett scored unassisted on the Pointers second power play chance.
Senior Meredith Ingbretson closed the door on the Oles after scoring the final goal of the night with under two minutes left to play.
UWSP will look to stay hot in a two game series against Concordia on Nov. 4 and 5.
Cross Country Competes at Conference Championships
Led by senior Dane Tyler and junior Emily Schlebecker, the UWSP cross country team competed at the WIAC Cross Country Championships on Oct. 29.
Senior Dane Tyler was the top finisher for the men’s team, crossing the line in 25:33.4 and he placed 22nd overall at the WIAC Championships on Saturday, Oct. 29 at the Wisconsin River Golf Club in Stevens Point, Wis. Photo by Kylie Bridenhagen.
Missing all-conference honors by only five seconds, Tyler led the way for the UWSP men’s team, who placed fifth overall, with a time of 25:33. Good enough for a 22nd-place finish.
Other notables for the men included sophomore Alex Egbert placing 29th individually, freshman Matt Stelmasek placing 31st, junior Alex Richardson finishing 35th and freshman Shea Bastian rounding of the effort at 37th place.
The women, who placed seventh, were led by Schlebecker’s 28th place finish after posting a time of 23:10 in the 6k race.
Freshman Bailey Wolf crossed the finish at 23:27 to claim a 35th place finish, while junior Kathy Derks followed close behind finishing with a 23:48 time.
UW-La Crosse took home the women’s team title and UW-Eau Claire claimed the men’s team title.
Austin Krueger
Sports Editor
austin.krueger@uwsp.edu
