Carly Lemke hit .348 with eight kills and three block assists against the Pointers.
Carly Lemke hit .348 with eight kills and three block assists against the Pointers.

Pointers Win Challenge With Titans

April Gehl had 22 kills and 17 digs to lead UW-Stevens Point to a 3-0 win over the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team Wednesday (Oct. 10) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Stevens Point (16-9, 3-1 WIAC) defeated the Titans in set scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-18 to earn its fourth victory in the past seven meetings in the series. The Pointers took leads for good at 17-16 during the first two sets before maintaining an advantage the entire third frame.

The Pointers concluded the match with edges in kills (54-37), hitting percentage (.286 to .184), assists (51-36), service aces (5-1) and digs (66-61). UW-Oshkosh owned a 6-4 advantage in blocks.

UW-Stevens Point collected 18 kills on .348 hitting in the first set, 16 kills at a .234 rate in the second and 20 terminations with a .277 hitting percentage in the third. UW-Oshkosh hit better than .170 each set, registering 15 kills in the opening frame and hitting .194 during the third set.

Gehl, who finished the match with 24 points, entered Wednesday ranked second in the NCAA Division III with 4.88 kills per set and fourth nationally with 5.42 points per set.

Ellie Adams amassed 47 assists while directing the UW-Stevens Point offense. Tara Emme added nine kills for the Pointers, who also received eight terminations from Maddie Lawson, seven from Hailey Jarr and six from Rachel Hein.

Tina Elstner paced UW-Oshkosh with nine kills while Carly Lemke chipped in eight kills on 23 errorless attempts. Samantha Jaeke contributed six kills on 14 error-free swings and a match-best four blocks for the Titans.

UW-Oshkosh's Rachel Gardner led all players with 26 digs.

The first set was tied for the 10th and final time at 16 before UW-Stevens Point reclaimed an 18-16 advantage in would not relinquish following back-to-back kills from Lawson and Adams. A kill by Elstner but the Titan deficit to 21-19, but the Pointers answered with three points in a row, including two on kills from Gehl and Jarr. Gehl's booming kill down the line capped the set two points later.

The teams once again played to a 16-16 tie in the second frame until the Pointers surged to an 18-16 lead following a service ace by Ali Zamzow. Trailing 21-18, Elstner notched consecutive kills to pull UW-Oshkosh within one point. However, a double-block by Gehl and Jarr, and a kill from Gehl extended the UW-Stevens Point cushion to 23-20. UW-Oshkosh fended off a pair of set-points after a Pointer attack error and a kill by Lemke, but Emme culminated the set with a kill on the ensuing point.

UW-Stevens Point never trailed in the final set as Gehl registered 11 kills during the frame. A combination block by Lemke and Shelby Coron pulled the Titans within 10-8, but the Pointers increased their lead to 18-11 after a kill from Hein and led by at least three points for the remainder of the match.

UW-Oshkosh (10-12, 0-4 WIAC) travels to UW-River Falls on Friday (Oct. 12).