Samantha Jaeke produced a match-high 10 kills against Wheaton College and a team-leading seven kills against Edgewood College.
Samantha Jaeke produced a match-high 10 kills against Wheaton College and a team-leading seven kills against Edgewood College.

Titans Produce Three-Set Wins over Thunder, Eagles

Samantha Jaeke had 17 kills and hit .500 on the day to lead the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team to a pair of 3-0 victories Saturday (Sept. 21) in Madison.

UW-Oshkosh (11-3) swept Wheaton College (Ill.) in set scores of 25-11, 25-15, 25-16 and host Edgewood College, 25-23, 25-12, 28-26. The Titans, who also beat Edgewood College in three sets Aug. 30, have won seven consecutive matches against the host Eagles and four of the past five meetings with Wheaton College.

Jaeke produced a match-high 10 kills on 17 attempts against Wheaton College and a team-leading seven kills on 13 swings against Edgewood College en route to pacing the Titans in terminations for the 11th time in 14 matches this season.

Taylor Allen added 12 kills and Rachel Aasby chipped in 11 during the Titans' two victories while Rachel Gardner led all players in digs both matches, collecting 18 against Wheaton College and 17 versus Edgewood College.

During the straight-sets win over Wheaton College, the Titans outhit the Thunder, .283 to -.062, after entering the weekend ranked 16th in the NCAA Division III with a .258 hitting percentage. UW-Oshkosh trailed on just two points over the first two sets and reclaimed the lead for good during the final frame at 6-5.

Aasby, Allen and Shelby Coron each provided seven kills for the Titans, who also received five kills from Carissa Sundholm and a match-high 24 assists from Emma Kiekhofer. Coron accounted for a match-best five blocks.

UW-Oshkosh finished the contest with considerable advantages of 38-16 in kills, 54-38 in digs and 10-3 in blocks. Both teams recorded four service aces.

The Titans raced out to a 7-2 lead during an opening set in which they held the Thunder to a -.167 hitting percentage with three kills on 30 attacks. Four consecutive kills from Allen, Jaeke, Aasby and Coron extended the UW-Oshkosh lead to 19-7, and a Sundholm termination ended the set seven points later.

UW-Oshkosh broke open the second set with nine points in a row for a 24-14 lead. The nine-point onslaught featured seven kills, including two each by Aasby, Allen and Jaeke, in addition to a double-block from Aasby and Allen. The Titans then claimed the frame with a 10-1 run on Aasby's kill as UW-Oshkosh pounded down 16 kills and hit .375 during the set.

Clinging to a 16-13 lead in the third set, UW-Oshkosh secured the sweep by scoring nine of the last 12 points. The Thunder were limited to a -.059 hitting percentage during the final set.

Collen Smith had a team-high six kills on .000 hitting for Wheaton College (10-3).

In the sweep against Edgewood College (2-10), nine different Titans recorded kills as UW-Oshkosh outhit the Eagles, .164 to .058.

Allen and Kendall Enyart both had five kills for the Titans while Aasby and Kate Nottoli added four apiece. Nottoli hit .500, Jaeke attacked at a .462 rate, Enyart hit .444 and Allen, who registered a match-best four blocks, hit .364.

Kiekhofer and Rebecca Doughty both dished out 12 assists for UW-Oshkosh.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the match with a 7-3 edge in blocks while Edgewood College had slight advantages of 7-5 in service aces and 56-54 in digs. Both teams collected 33 kills.

The Eagles built a 7-2 lead in the first set until UW-Oshkosh stormed back to claim an 11-10 advantage following an Edgewood College attack error. Knotted at 14, the Titans took the lead for good with four straight points that included kills by Jaeke and Nottoli, and a combination block from Jaeke and Nottoli. The Eagles pulled within 23-22, but UW-Oshkosh finished the opening set with kills from Nottoli and Allen over the last three points.

The second set was all Titans as they finished the frame with 14 of the last 18 points. UW-Oshkosh then appeared to be cruising to a comfortable win in the third set, owning leads of 17-12 and 20-14 before Edgewood College rallied to take a 23-22 lead. The Eagles fended off match-points at 24-23 and 25-24 before creating a set-point of their own at 26-25, but UW-Oshkosh scored the last three points of the match on a service error followed by back-to-back Aasby kills.

Edgewood College's Abbey Maier had a match-high nine kills on .438 hitting. Sarah Uczen amassed a team-leading 16 digs for the Eagles, who also received four service aces from Amanda Carlson.

UW-Oshkosh returns to conference play at UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Sept. 25).