Warhawks Sweep Titans In WIAC Championship Semifinal
UW-Oshkosh fell 3-0 to UW-Whitewater in a semifinal round match of the WIAC Women's Volleyball Championship held Friday (Nov. 7) in Stevens Point.
The 24th-ranked Warhawks prevailed over the Titans in set scores of 25-16, 28-26, 25-22.
UW-Oshkosh (30-7) will now face UW-River Falls (13-19) in the third-place match of the six-team tournament at noon on Saturday (Nov. 8). UW-Whitewater (26-7) advances to play seventh-ranked UW-Stevens Point (28-4) for the title at 2:30 p.m. The host Pointers advanced by defeating UW-River Falls, 3-0, in another semifinal held Friday.
UW-Whitewater averaged 17 kills per set for its second sweep of UW-Oshkosh this season. The Warhawks registered 19 kills on .400 hitting in the first set, 20 kills on .255 hitting in the second and 12 kills on .132 hitting in the third.
The Warhawks held advantages over the Titans in kills (51-36), hitting percentage (.264 to .146), service aces (5-2) and digs (54-52). Both teams registered eight blocks.
Allison Rueger paced the Titans with 10 kills. Katelyn Malcheski had eight kills, while Nerissa Vogt added seven kills and a team-high four blocks.
UW-Oshkosh's Mandy Trautmann had a match-high 19 digs, while Lexi Thiel contributed a team-high 28 assists.
Ariel Feiertag led UW-Whitewater with 12 kills on 25 attempts. Jessica Sabey added 10 kills, while Kristen Ruchti had nine kills and a match-high five blocks. Kim Frei led all players with 41 assists.
UW-Oshkosh opened the match with a kill by Rueger, but it was the only lead the Titans had in the first set. A five-point run gave UW-Whitewater a 14-5 lead, and the Titans could only get to within seven points the rest of the frame.
Neither team had more than a three-point edge in the second set until UW-Whitewater scored five straight points for a 19-15 lead. The Titans rallied to even the set at 22 on kills by Rueger and Laura Trochinski. UW-Whitewater claimed the next two points for a 24-22 advantage, but two Warhawk attack errors sent the set to extra points. Tied at 26, UW-Whitewater secured a 2-0 match lead on a kill and a UW-Oshkosh attack error.
UW-Whitewater opened leads of 6-2, 12-6 and 19-10 in the third set. The Titans trimmed their deficit to 21-18 on a five-point run that featured a Malcheski kill, a Thiel service ace and three Warhawk errors. UW-Oshkosh pulled with 22-20, but the teams traded the final five points of the match to put UW-Whitewater in the WIAC Championship final for the sixth time in nine years.
UW-Oshkosh seeks its best finish at WIAC Championship since 2009 when it plays UW-River Falls for third place. The Titans won the third-place match that season and advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division III Championship.
Photo courtesy of Jack McLaughlin