Titans To Host Second Volleyball Tournament Of Season
UW-Oshkosh will host a seven-team women's volleyball invitational this weekend that features two squads ranked among the national leaders in winning percentage and two other programs that played in the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship.
Competition begins Friday (Oct. 24) in Kolf Sports Center with matches at 3:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Action continues on Saturday (Oct. 25) with contests at 10 a.m., 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The event features three courts, with each team playing two matches per day.
Teams visiting UW-Oshkosh for the event are Carthage College, Clarke University (Iowa), Loras College (Iowa), UW-River Falls, Wartburg College (Iowa) and Webster University (Mo.).
Carthage College (23-2) and UW-Oshkosh (24-4) entered this week ranked fourth and eighth, respectively, among 411 NCAA Division III teams in winning percentage.
Carthage College, ranked 14th in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, is the only nationally ranked team competing at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational. The Lady Reds own first place in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a 5-0 record.
UW-Oshkosh, which has a 10-1 record at home this season, is tied for third place in the WIAC with a 3-3 record. The Titans have gone unbeaten during each of their four-match weekends this year – the Texas Lutheran University Bulldog Classic on Aug. 29-30, the UW-Oshkosh Pizza Hut Classic on Sept. 12-13 and the UW-Eau Claire Fall Classic on Oct. 17-18.
Wartburg College (20-7) and Webster University (17-8) both participated in the 2013 NCAA Division III Championship. Both teams currently occupy third place in its respective conference, Wartburg College in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) and Webster University in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
UW-Oshkosh's matches on Friday are against Webster University at 3:30 p.m. and Carthage College at 7:30 p.m. The Titans will battle Wartburg College at 12 p.m. and Loras College at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Loras College (11-16) is tied for seventh place in the IIAC.
Clarke University (18-10) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Crusaders are tied for third place in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.
UW-River Falls (9-15) is one of two other teams tied with UW-Oshkosh for third place in the WIAC standings.
Katelyn Malcheski, who needs six kills to reach 1,000 for her career, leads UW-Oshkosh with 343 kills. Brooke Brinkman has 251 kills and Nerissa Vogt 201. Morgan Cizauskas and Lexi Thiel have 663 and 426 assists, respectively. Mandy Trautmann, who entered the week ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III in digs, owns 595 digs. The Titans also went into the week ranked eighth in the nation in blocks. Vogt leads the team with 88 blocks, followed by Brinkman with 62 and Malcheski with 59.
A 12-member all-tournament team will be announced following Saturday's matches. A team champion will not be declared.