The Dominican University women's volleyball team fell to 0-5 on the season, dropping matches to a pair of AVCA Top 20 opponents on Wednesday night, falling to #20 UW-Whitewater in three sets (25-15, 25-10, 25-16) before being topped in four sets (25-19, 16-25, 25-20, 25-20) by #17 Elmhurst.
 
"These first few weeks are the toughest part of our season," remarked Jeanne Czipri, the Stars' head coach in her third season.  "It's a big challenge to be working through what we are while playing the teams we have played.  We are just hoping that this pays off come November when we need to play at our best in high pressure matches."
 
Against the Warhawks, Dominican managed just 11 kills while committing 19 attack errors, four ball-handling errors and four serving errors.
 
"Our play against Whitewater was extremely disappointing," commented Czipri.  "While we are still working on lineups and consistency, that is no excuse for our performance in the first match."
 
One of the few bright spots for the Stars was senior Rosalyn Wyse who posted team-highs in kills and digs with five and seven respectively.
 
Dominican's attack showed a little more life against the Bluejays with Wyse and Alex Kisten powering the attack.  Wyse collected nine kills while Kisten added eight as the Stars hit .137 as a team.
 
"I was impressed with how the team rebounded mentally and physically against Elmhurst," continued Czipri.  "We were able to execute parts of our game plan and were stronger offensively.  I was extremely pleased with Elin Ream running the offense. She has come a long way in her short time setting."
 
The Stars, now 0-5 on the season, will look to pick up their first win on Saturday, when Dominican returns home to host the University of Chicago Maroons for a 7:00 p.m. match in the Igini Sports Forum.