Titans Secure Berth Into WIAC Championship
Samantha Jaeke had a team-leading seven kills on 15 errorless attempts, Taylor Allen added five kills and a match-best six blocks, and the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team defeated UW-Platteville, 3-0, on Wednesday (Oct. 24) in Kolf Sports Center.
With the 25-18, 25-15, 25-17 victory, UW-Oshkosh (16-13, 2-4 WIAC) clinches a berth into the six-team WIAC Championship that commences Tuesday (Oct. 30). The Titans conclude the regular season at UW-Stout on Saturday (Oct. 27). UW-Oshkosh will be the fifth seed with a win over the Blue Devils or the sixth seed with a loss.
UW-Oshkosh picked up its fifth consecutive win over UW-Platteville by outhitting the Pioneers, .233 to .008, and producing advantages of 32-29 in kills, 56-39 in digs and 10-2 in blocks. The Pioneers held a 4-3 edge in service aces. The Titans outhit UW-Platteville, .308 to .083, in the second set and .312 to .070 during the third frame.
The Titans, who hit above .200 for the sixth time this season, have compiled 10 or more blocks during seven matches on the year. Four Titans hit at least .300 against UW-Platteville, including Jaeke's season-best .467 rate and Shelby Coron at .364 on 11 attacks. Jaeke is now hitting .432 over the past three matches.
Tina Elstner contributed six kills and eight digs against UW-Platteville while Coron added five kills and five blocks, and Renee Rush chipped in four kills on 10 swings and two blocks.
UW-Oshkosh's Emma Kiekhofer had a team-leading 12 assists and two service aces to go along with a pair of kills on three attempts and five digs. Rebecca Doughty dished out nine assists and collected eight digs while co-running the Titan offense.
Katie Hodges led all players with 14 digs for the Titans, who also received 11 digs from Rachel Gardner, and three kills and three blocks from Carly Lemke.
UW-Platteville (9-22, 0-6 WIAC) scored seven straight points behind the serve of CJ Johnson to claim a 16-11 lead in the opening set, but the Titans responded with 10 unanswered points on Lemke's serve for a 21-16 advantage. UW-Oshkosh's 10-point surge, which was bookended by kills from Allen and Coron, featured a pair of combination blocks by Allen and Coron, and four other Pioneer attack errors. A kill by Allen provided the Titans with set-point at 24-18, and a Jaeke termination culminated the set on the following point.
The Pioneers scored the first two points of the second set, but UW-Oshkosh reclaimed the lead for good at 4-3 after back-to-back ballhandling errors on UW-Platteville. A double-block by Allen and Rush extended the Titan advantage to 10-5, and UW-Oshkosh led by at least three points for the remainder of the frame. Leading 17-14, the Titans tallied eight of the last nine points of the set, including kills from Coron and Rush, and service aces by Elstner and Kiekhofer.
UW-Platteville once again jumped out to an early lead in the third set by scoring five of the first six points before a Pioneer service error gave the Titans an 11-10 edge they would not relinquish. The UW-Platteville error sparked a string of five consecutive UW-Oshkosh points, which included a Coron kill and a combination block by Elstner and Lemke, that extended the Titans' lead to 15-10. UW-Oshkosh then put the match away with six straight points for a 21-11 lead. Highlighting the six-point run were two kills apiece from Coron and Elstner, and a solo block by Coron. UW-Oshkosh secured the sweep with a Jaeke kill and a Pioneer attack error on the last two points of the contest.
The Pioneers' Lita Solbrig had a match-high 10 kills on .350 hitting.
Katie Asche amassed seven kills for UW-Platteville, which also received 15 assists from Johnson and 12 digs by Olivia Kudronwicz.
UW-Oshkosh has swept UW-Platteville each of the past three meetings and four times over the past five matchups.