WHEATON, Ill. – The No. 12 UW-Stevens Point volleyball team made it three sweeps at the Wheaton Invitational by cruising past Dubuque and North Central (Ill.) on Saturday afternoon at King Arena.
 
No. 12 UW-Stevens Point 3, Dubuque 0 | Box
 
UW-Stevens Point (18-4) hit a season-best .404 in the match to blow by Dubuque (10-12) by a 25-8, 25-9, 25-21 score. Kelly Cefalu (Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) was the only player on either team in double figures in kills, finishing with 15 and 10 digs.
 
Cefalu hit .419 in the match, Ellen Drewry (Waunakee, WI/Waunakee) hit .462 with eight kills and Gabby Thomas (Henderson, MN/LeSueur-Henderson) hit .455 with six kills. Maddie Courter (Geneva, IL/Geneva) notched five kills on seven swing and three solo blocks.
 
UW-Stevens Point raced through the first set by hitting .615 with 16 kills and no errors. The Pointers won 20 of the final 28 points of the set after leading 5-4 in the early stages.
 
The Pointers took seven of the first eight points of the second set and 13 of the first 15. UW-Stevens Point hit .444 in the second and held the Spartans to an attack percentage of -.091.
 
Dubuque held leads of 6-2 and 12-7 in the third but UW-Stevens Point used a run of seven consecutive points to take a 22-19 lead and closed it out in three.
 
Brittany Laffin (Carpentersville, IL/Hampshire) had 35 assists in the match and Bri Piepenbrok (Merrill, WI/Merrill) matched Cefalu with 10 digs. Dubuque hit just .030 in the loss.
 
No. 12 UW-Stevens Point 3, North Central (Ill.) 0 | Box
 
Drewry set a career-high with 16 kills and hit .480 as the Pointers closed the tournament with a 25-12, 25-16, 25-23 victory over North Central (14-7). Cefalu posted her third-straight double-double of 12 kills and 11 digs and was in double figures in kills for the ninth consecutive match.
 
UW-Stevens Point won nine of the first 10 points of the match behind the serve of Marie Krengel (Eagan, MN/Eastview), who had two aces during the quick start. The Pointers won 16 of the first 19 points in the match and Drewry closed out the set with kills on the final three points.
 
After hitting .481 in the first set, the Pointers cooled off to .167 in the second but held the Cardinals to an attack percentage of .026 to go up two sets. UW-Stevens Point turned a 15-11 lead into a 23-14 advantage with an 8-3 run to pull away.
 
Looking to stay in the match, North Central held a 20-19 lead late in the third before UW-Stevens Point won five of the next six points. The Cardinals saved two match points to get within 24-23 but Drewry ended the match with a kill.
 
The Pointers hit .303 in the match, compared to .119 for the Cardinals. Laffin had 39 assists in the win, while Hannah Picel (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) led three players in double figures with 14 digs.
 
Following play, Drewry was named to the Wheaton Invitational All-Tournament Team. The sophomore averaged 3.78 kills per set and hit .439 in three matches.
 
UW-Stevens Point returns to Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play by hosting UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in Berg Gym. Fans are encouraged to wear purple for the team's Attacking Alzheimer's match.