Taylor Allen totaled 11 kills against the Vikings and Tigers.
Taylor Allen totaled 11 kills against the Vikings and Tigers.

Titans End Missouri Trip With Swap Of Shutouts

Tina Elstner had a team-leading 16 kills on the day as the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team split a pair of 3-0 decisions to conclude its trip three-match trip to St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday (Oct. 6).

UW-Oshkosh (10-11) began the day with a 25-19, 26-24, 25-23 victory over Augustana College (Ill.) before suffering a 23-25, 13-25, 23-25 setback to Colorado College. Colorado College is ranked second in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The Titans, who have played nationally ranked teams in four of their past five matches, own a 1-5 record against programs ranked in the AVCA top 25 this season. UW-Oshkosh began its trip to the Show Me State with a 3-0 loss to 11th-ranked tournament host Washington University in St. Louis on Friday.

In the win over Augustana College, the Titans erased late deficits in the final two sets. During the loss to Colorado College, UW-Oshkosh and the Tigers were tied at 23 in the first and third frames.

Kendall Enyart added 14 total kills for the Titans on Saturday. Taylor Allen chipped in 11 terminations and Samantha Jaeke 10. Emma Kiekhofer had 32 assists on the day and Rebecca Doughty dished out 22 while sharing setting duties for the Titans.

Defensively, UW-Oshkosh's Rachel Gardner amassed 28 digs on the day, Katie Hodges recorded 22 digs and Taylor Allen had a team-leading five blocks.

Against Augustana College, the Titans held advantages in kills (41-37), hitting percentage (.189 to .123), assists (39-33), service aces (3-1), digs (56-39) and blocks (8-4).

The balanced UW-Oshkosh offense featured six Titans with at least six kills, including Allen with a team-high eight. Carly Lemke contributed seven kills on .600 hitting while Elstner and Rush registered seven kills. Enyart and Jaeke chipped in six kills apiece. Enyart also had a match-high four blocks.

Kiekhofer and Doughty compiled 20 and 14 assists, respectively, while co-directing the UW-Oshkosh offense. Gardner led all players with 17 digs and Hodges provided 10 digs.

The Titans scored the first four points of the match and maintained a lead until Augustana College claimed a 9-8 advantage. Tied at 14 in the opening set, the Titans notched three straight points on a pair of Viking errors and a kill from Enyart for a 17-14 lead they would not relinquish. Leading 21-18, Elstner notched a kill before a combination block from Enyart and Lemke provided the Titans a 23-18 cushion. Kills on consecutive points from Elstner and Lemke capped the frame three points later.

The Titans raced out to an 8-3 advantage in the second set following a solo block by Allen, but the Vikings rallied to knot the score at 19 and later take their first lead of the frame at 23-22 with three straight points. A UW-Oshkosh error gave Augustana College a 24-22 lead, but the Titans answered with the final four points of the set as Jaeke's kill pulled UW-Oshkosh within one, a double-block from Allen and Jaeke tied the score, a Viking error gave the Titans set-point, and Allen clinched the frame with a termination.

The third set was tied on nine occasions, including for the last time at 23, when a service ace by Elstner and a kill from Rush on the last two points clinched the Titan sweep. UW-Oshkosh collected 14 kills on .273 hitting during the third set.

Grace Bialobok led the Vikings (9-10) with 11 kills and four blocks.

Olivia Doak had a team-leading 13 assists for Augustana College, which also received a team-high 10 digs from Madi Glatz.

In the setback to Colorado College, the Tigers owned advantages in kills (45-30), hitting percentage (.231 to .115), assists (39-24), service aces (3-1), digs (55-49) and blocks (6-3). Colorado College entered the weekend third nationally with a .284 hitting percentage and .072 opponent hitting percentage, and fourth with both 14.16 kills and 13.27 assists per set.

Colorado College's Margo Spaethling had a match-high 13 kills, and Isabella Vaszuez added 10 terminations as Lizzy Counts dished out 35 assists for the Tigers. Counts entered the weekend fourth in Division III by averaging 11.05 assists per set this year.

Anna Gurolnick recorded a match-best 18 digs and one service aces for Colorado College.

Elstner paced the Titans with nine kills while Enyart had eight terminations on just 15 attempts. .212 to .150

Other UW-Oshkosh leaders included Kiekhofer with 12 assists, Hodges with 12 digs, and Allen and Elstner with two blocks apiece. Gardner collected 11 digs, marking her 17th match of the season with at least 10.

UW-Oshkosh tallied four of the first five points of the match and did not trail until the Tigers took a 9-8 edge. The first set was tied 10 times, including at 15 following a block by Allen, at 19 and 22 after kills from Elstner, and at 23 following a Jaeke kill as the Titans outhit the Tigers, .212 to .150 during the opening frame. However, back-to-back kills from Myca Steffey-Bean and Laney Swan capped the set.

Colorado College (20-1) never trailed in the second set, reclaiming the lead for good at 8-7 on a kill from Vasquez. The Tigers later increased their advantage to 18-12 following three consecutive kills.

UW-Oshkosh began the third set with kills from Elstner and Enyart, and a service ace by Gardner. The Tigers took their first lead of the frame at 16-15 on a service ace during the middle of a four-point run. Trailing 22-17, a combination block from Allen and Elstner sparked a 5-1 UW-Oshkosh scoring run that also included kills from Enyart and Lemke, and a double-block by Elstner and Lemke that tied the score at 23. However, Colorado College snuffed out the Titans' comeback attempt with a kill and a UW-Oshkosh error on the ensuing two points.

Lemke represented UW-Oshkosh on the eight-member All-Tournament Team at the Washington University Invitational. Lemke totaled 14 kills and three blocks across the three matches.

The Titans sport an 11-6 record against Augustana College and a 1-2 mark against Colorado College. UW-Oshkosh also swept its previous meeting over Augustana College, in 2009, while the prior two matchups with Colorado College both went five sets.

UW-Oshkosh hosts UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday (Oct. 10) in Kolf Sports Center.