Titans Enjoy A Successful Opening Day
Samantha Jaeke had 19 kills and six blocks on the day to lead the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team to a pair of three-set victories to open the season at the Colorado College Classic on Friday (Aug.30) in Colorado Springs, Colo.
UW-Oshkosh (2-0) swept first-time opponent Millsaps College (Miss.) in set scores of 25-12, 25-21, 25-19 before downing Edgewood College by scores of 25-20, 25-17, 25-21. The Titans, who recorded seven aces in both matches, held their opponents to a combined .076 hitting percentage Friday.
The Titans, who earned their sixth straight win over Edgewood College since 2015, swept their first two matches of the season for the first time since 2006.
Carissa Sundholm added 14 kills and 11 digs Friday for the Titans, who also received 10 total kills from Rachel Aasby.
UW-Oshkosh's Rachel Gardner all players in digs both matches, collecting 10 in the season opener and 12 against Edgewood College. Emma Kiekhofer and Rebecca Doughty dished out 37 and 23 assists, respectively, while sharing setting duties for the Titans.
In the victory over Millsaps College, the Titans raced out to a 14-2 lead in the first set of the season before completing the sweep with late scoring runs over the final two frames.
UW-Oshkosh trailed, 17-16, in the second set and clung to a 22-21 advantage until scoring the final three points of the frame on kills from Aasby and Shelby Coron, and a service ace by Doughty on set-point.
The Titans then regained the lead for good at 14-13 in the third set following a Taylor Allen kill. Leading 20-18 during the final frame, the Titans outscored the Majors, 5-1, the rest of the way.
UW-Oshkosh outhit Millsaps College, .256 to .051, and recorded 10 blocks, including five from both Allen and Jaeke, and four by Coron. The Titans also held advantages of 36-29 in kills, 35-29 in assists, 7-3 in service aces, 35-27 in digs and 10-3 in blocks.
Jaeke had a match-high 14 points and 11 kills on 18 attempts for the Titans while Aasby added seven kills, Sundholm had six kills and three service aces, and Allen and Brynna Mayer chipped in five kills apiece.
Kiekhofer led all players with 22 assists and Doughty contributed 13.
Erica Bennett had a team-high nine kills on -.081 hitting for Millsaps College (0-1).
During the win over Edgewood College, the Titans outhit the Eagles each set en route to earning their second straight sweep in the series.
UW-Oshkosh finished the match hitting .173 while Edgewood College hit just .101. The Titans also owned edges of 7-3 in service aces and 5-3 in blocks.
Edgewood College (0-2) produced advantages of 36-29 in kills and 45-33 in digs.
Jaeke and Sundholm both accounted for a team-best eight kills for the Titans while Coron had five kills, three blocks and one service ace.
UW-Oshkosh's Gardner and Becky Brezen both delivered a pair of service aces. Kiekhofer had 15 assists for the Titans and Doughty distributed 10.
Edgewood College maintained a lead in the first set until the Titans wrested control at 12-11 on a kill by Allen. UW-Oshkosh extended the lead to 15-11 after back-to-back kills from Jaeke and Sundholm ahead of an Eagles attack error. The Titans went on to build a 23-16 cushion and cruised to the opening-set win.
The Titans never trailed in the second set after scoring six of the first seven points. The Eagles knotted the score at 13, but UW-Oshkosh outscored Edgewood College, 12-4, the rest of the frame.
The third set featured 14 ties and eight lead changes before UW-Oshkosh scored the final five points of the match. Trailing 21-20, the Titans closed out the match with an Aasby kill for the tie ahead of four consecutive Eagles attack errors.
Mackenzie Doherty paced a balanced Edgewood College offense with nine kills.
UW-Oshkosh concludes its trip to the Centennial State by playing Clarkson University (N.Y.) and tournament host Colorado College, which is ranked seventh in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, on Saturday (Aug. 31).