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Women's Volleyball

Titans Return To Quarterfinal Round Of NCAA Championship

Box Score

UW-Oshkosh overcame an opening-set loss with three straight wins against the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) to capture the title of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Oshkosh Regional on Saturday (Nov. 14) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh took the match in set scores of 17-25, 25-19, 25-20 and 25-15. The Titans entered the contest ranked second in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association and the Tommies 14th.

With the win, UW-Oshkosh advances to meet Christopher Newport University (Va.) at 8 p.m. (ET) on Thursday (Nov. 19) in University Heights, Ohio. The upcoming contest marks the Titans second straight appearance in the quarterfinal round of the 62-team NCAA Division III Championship. UW-Oshkosh lost a 3-0 decision to Juniata College (Pa.) in the quarterfinal round of last year's tournament.

UW-Oshkosh (38-2) was overwhelmed in the first set of the match, falling behind 13-3. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the set as the Tommies took the early lead in the match.

Set two was tied, 8-8, before the Titans rallied for seven of the next eight points. UW-Oshkosh grabbed a 19-10 lead and held on for the win.

Another mid-set surge during the third set put UW-Oshkosh in control. The Titans led 13-10 before they hammered down a 7-1 scoring run to go in front, 20-11. From there UW-Oshkosh held on to take a 2-1 advantage in sets.

After a 7-7 tie in the fourth set, UW-Oshkosh made sure it put the match out of reach. A flurry of kills put the Titans ahead, 15-8. Four of the last five points went to UW-Oshkosh as the Titans kept their season alive.

Katelyn Vara (Sr. • New Berlin) led the Titans to the victory by totaling 40 assists, 15 digs, six kills and three blocks. Katie Beining (Sr. • Brookfield) topped the Titans with 11 kills while adding 11 digs.

UW-Oshkosh also received 10 kills from both Aleisha Bagin (Fr. • West Bend) and Brittany Gruning (Fr. • Mukwonago), 18 digs, eight kills and three service aces from
Andrea Smith (Jr. • Fond du Lac) and eight kills and eight blocks from Jacque Ray (Sr. • Richland Center). Christina Cahoon (Jr. • Watertown) tallied 37 digs as she earned the regional's Most Outstanding Player award.

The University of St. Thomas (26-7) was led by the 11 kills and seven blocks of Jill Osborne and the 26 digs of Kaitlin Wachter. Kyley Crotty added 14 digs and nine kills and Emily Foster 33 assists and 10 digs. Molly Staton contributed 14 digs and Katie Bonine 11 digs and eight kills.

UW-Oshkosh held advantages of 53-41 in kills, 46-33 in assists, 8-4 in service aces and .148-.091 in hitting percentage. The University of St. Thomas tallied cushions of 11-9 in blocks and 96-94 in digs.

UW-Oshkosh, which has won 178 of its last 200 matches, had three players named to the all-tournament team. Joining Cahoon on the seven-member squad were Beining and Vara of UW-Oshkosh, Crotty and Foster of the University of St. Thomas, Felisha Bridgers of Luther College (Iowa) and Emily Zupon of UW-Eau Claire.