Titans Begin Women’s Volleyball Season In Washington
The 13-time WIAC champion UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team opens the 2018 season with a pair of matches against nationally ranked programs at the Puget Sound Premiere on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 in Tacoma, Wash.
The Titans, who have claimed a share of two of the past three conference titles, take on Pacific Lutheran University (Wash.) and tournament host University of Puget Sound on Aug. 31 before battling Elizabethtown College (Pa.) and Millikin University (Ill.) on Sept. 1.
UW-Oshkosh (20-15 record in 2017) is set to play five reigning conference champions and 11 of its 30 regular season matches against teams that appeared in last year's NCAA Division III Championship. Sixteenth-ranked Millikin University (29-8), the defending champion in the College Conference in Illinois & Wisconsin, and 22nd-ranked Pacific Lutheran University (21-5), the reigning Northwest Conference winner, both advanced to the second round of the national tournament a year ago.
The Titans, who finished fourth in the NCAA Division III with 272.5 blocks last season, then travel to Wheaton, Ill., to play host Wheaton College (4-21) and Edgewood College (18-15) on Sept. 4 before conducting its home opener at the eight-team Pizza Hut Classic.
UW-Oshkosh welcomes Elmhurst College (Ill.) (10-19) and Lakeland University (15-18) to Kolf Sports Center on Sept. 7 and concludes the Pizza Hut Classic against Martin Luther College (Minn.) (16-17) and University of Chicago (Ill.) on Sept. 8. University of Chicago (23-9) received an at-large berth to the national tournament a year ago.
The Pizza Hut Classic accounts for four of the Titans' seven home matches this season. The others are conference games against UW-Eau Claire (17-11) on Sept. 28, UW-Stevens Point (24-10) on Oct. 10 and UW-Platteville (15-14) on Oct. 24.
The Titans journey to De Pere to face Lawrence University (10-17) and St. Norbert College (13-16) on Sept. 12 ahead of the conference opener at defending WIAC champion UW-La Crosse (22-7) on Sept. 19.
UW-Oshkosh then travels to the Jim Coleman Memorial Classic in Aurora, Ill., to play Ripon College (10-17) on Sept. 21 and both 14th-ranked Carthage College (27-9) and tournament host Aurora University (26-8) on Sept. 22. Carthage College reached the third round of the national tournament last season while Aurora University made its first NCAA Championship appearance.
The Titans return to league play at UW-Whitewater (22-8) on Sept. 26. UW-Oshkosh's conference agenda also includes trips to UW-River Falls (19-15) on Oct. 12 and UW-Stout (9-20) for the regular season finale on Oct. 27.
Rounding out the Titans' schedule are the WashU Invitational on Oct. 5-6 in St. Louis, Mo., a pair of matches in St. Paul, Minn., on Oct. 13 and the Concordia University Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 19-20 in Mequon.
UW-Oshkosh will battle 10th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) on Oct. 5 before playing Augustana (Ill.) (14-15) and Colorado colleges on Oct. 6. Washington University (24-10), which owns a Division III-record 10 national titles, won the University Athletic Association title last season and participated in the national tournament. Third-ranked Colorado College (33-2), last year's winner in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, reached the third round of the 2017 Division III Championship.
In Minnesota, the Titans will oppose North Star State foes Saint Mary's University (15-13) and 15th-ranked University of Northwestern-St. Paul.). Seven-time defending Upper Midwest Athletic Conference champion University of Northwestern (34-7) advanced to the third round of the national tournament last year.
The Titans' trek to Mequon begins by playing host Concordia University Wisconsin on Oct. 19 and wraps up with matches against 13th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University and a to-be-determined opponent on Oct. 20. Concordia University Wisconsin (28-3) claimed the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title last year and made a Division III Championship appearance, while Illinois Wesleyan University (23-8) advanced to the second round of the NCAA postseason.
UW-Oshkosh finished fifth in the WIAC standings a year ago with a 3-4 record. The Titans shared the 2016 WIAC championship with UW-La Crosse and UW-Whitewater and the 2015 league crown with UW-La Crosse.
UW-La Crosse captured last year's WIAC title with a 7-0 record before going on to reach the second round of the Division III Championship. The Eagles were followed in the WIAC standings by second-place UW-Eau Claire with a 6-1 record, third-place UW-Whitewater at 5-2 and fourth-place UW-Stevens Point at 4-3.
Completing the league standings were UW-Oshkosh, sixth-place UW-Stout with a 2-5 record, seventh-place UW-Platteville at 1-6 and eighth-place UW-River Falls at 0-7.
UW-Oshkosh second-year head coach Jon Ellmann returns 12 letter winners, including All-WIAC honorees Tina Elstner, Samantha Jaeke and Carly Lemke. Elstner and Jaeke both received All-WIAC first team recognition the past two seasons while Lemke earned all-league honorable mention status in 2016.
Elstner, a senior outside hitter, led the WIAC with 47 services aces last season while listing third in the league with 391 kills and 18th in hitting percentage (.208). She recorded 10 double-doubles in 2017, including a season-high 26 kills with 14 digs during a 3-2 win over UW-River Falls.
Jaeke, a junior right-side/outside hitter, compiled 11 double-doubles and four triple-doubles last season while ranking 20th in the WIAC with a .202 hitting percentage. She counted a team-leading 547 assists while listing second on the squad with 275 kills.
Lemke, a senior middle blocker, hit .296 last season with 219 kills, 102 blocks, 61 digs and 25 service aces. Her hitting percentage ranked second in the WIAC while her block count listed eighth.
UW-Oshkosh, which has appeared in two of the past four Division III Championships and 17 overall, began practice for the 2018 season on Saturday (Aug. 18).