Titans Sweep Pioneers In WIAC First-Round Match

Third-seeded UW-Oshkosh defeated sixth-seed UW-Platteville, 3-0, in a first-round match of the WIAC Women's Volleyball Championship on Tuesday (Nov. 4) in Kolf Sports Center.

The Titans (30-6), who reached 30 wins for the sixth time in 10 seasons, won the contest in set scores of 25-17, 25-14, 25-18.

UW-Oshkosh advances to play second-seed and 24th-ranked UW-Whitewater (25-7) in a WIAC Championship semifinal in Stevens Point on Friday (Nov. 7). The other semifinal will feature top-seed and seventh-ranked UW-Stevens Point (27-4) facing fourth-seed UW-River Falls (13-18), which defeated UW-Stout (20-10) in three sets in the other first-round match.

UW-Platteville had beaten UW-Oshkosh four of the last five meetings at the WIAC Championship. The Titans' sole win in that span was a 3-2 victory in 2009, when UW-Oshkosh reached the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championship. The last time the Titans swept the Pioneers in the WIAC postseason was in the 1995 quarterfinals.

UW-Oshkosh left no doubt this time around. The Titans outhit the Pioneers in each set and finished the match with a .268 to .125 advantage in hitting percentage. UW-Platteville committed 17 attack and eight ball-handling errors, while UW-Oshkosh had just nine and one, respectively.

UW-Oshkosh's Brooke Brinkman had a match-high nine kills on .438 hitting. Katelyn Malcheski added eight kills. Nerissa sent back a match-best six attacks. Mandy Trautmann and Lexi Thiel led all players with 19 digs and 24 assists, respectively.

UW-Platteville led the first five points of the match, but the Titans turned a 3-1 deficit into a 10-5 lead and never trailed after gaining a 4-3 edge. The Pioneers closed within 12-10 on three consecutive kills, but a kill by Brinkman and two attack errors pushed the Titan lead back to five. UW-Oshkosh closed the opening set with four straight points, including kills by Brinkman and Malcheski and a service ace by Thiel.

UW-Oshkosh tallied seven straight points for a 7-1 lead in the second set and never looked back. UW-Platteville had four attack errors and one service error in the decisive run. The Titans held a slim 9-8 advantage in kills during the frame, but UW-Platteville hit just .062 to .259 for UW-Oshkosh.

Trailing 8-5 in the third set, UW-Oshkosh scored nine of the next 10 points and never ceded the lead. A four-point run by UW-Platteville cut the Titans' advantage to 14-13, but the Titans responded with a four-point spurt of their own on kills by Thiel, Vogt and Trautmann and the last of the Pioneers' eight ball-handling errors.

UW-Oshkosh went into the match among the D III top 10 in blocks (second), digs (fifth), kills (sixth) and assists (seventh). Individually, Trautmann ranked second nationally in digs. Malcheski and Vogt were 20th in kills and blocks, respectively.

The Titans' semifinal match against UW-Whitewater begins at 5 p.m. in Stevens Point.