Titans' Sixth Straight Win Is Sweep Of Pioneers

UW-Oshkosh's Rachel Gardner led all players with 21 digs as the Titans held UW-Platteville to a season-low .026 hitting percentage en route to a 3-0 victory Wednesday (Sept. 25) in Platteville.

UW-Oshkosh (12-3, 2-0 WIAC) swept UW-Platteville in set scores of 25-16, 25-21, 25-17 on the way to winning for the sixth straight time in the series. The Pioneers, who suffered their first setback in Platteville this season, are now 7-1 at home on the year.

Rachel Aasby and Kendall Enyart both paced the balanced UW-Oshkosh offense with eight kills. Taylor Allen added six kills and a match-high five blocks for the Titans, who also received five kills, eight assists and a season-high 12 digs from Samantha Jaeke. Rebecca Doughty had a team-leading 14 assists.

Gardner, the reigning WIAC Defensive Player of the Week, entered the match ranked fourth in the league with 4.70 digs per set.

The Titans finished the match with advantages in kills (31-30), hitting percentage (.134 to .026), digs (52-45) and blocks (9-6). UW-Oshkosh went into the night leading the conference with a .239 hitting percentage and 1.98 blocks per set.

UW-Oshkosh, which extended its winning streak to six matches, took control of the opening set with a 10-2 run that turned a 9-7 deficit into a 17-11 lead. Five different Titans contributed kills during the pivotal run that included a double-block by Allen and Carissa Sundholm. An Enyart kill increased the UW-Oshkosh cushion to 20-13, and a pair of UW-Platteville errors ended the set in which the Pioneers hit .000.

The Titans raced out to a 9-3 lead in the second set, but the Pioneers stormed back to claim a 12-11 advantage. UW-Oshkosh responded to its lone deficit of the second set with seven consecutive points for an 18-12 lead. The Titans' seven-point surge began with four straight UW-Platteville errors and ended with a kill from Jaeke and a combination block by Allen and Jaeke. Leading 24-21, Aasby secured the Titans' two-set advantage with a kill on their third attempt to close out the frame.

UW-Oshkosh then trailed on just the first point of the third set as the Titans swept the Pioneers for the fifth consecutive meeting. The Titans seized control of the final frame with five unanswered points for a 9-4 lead. The Pioneers pulled within 17-16, but UW-Oshkosh closed out the match with eight of the last nine points, including three on Enyart kills.

Olivia Kudronowicz paced UW-Platteville with eight kills on -.057 hitting.

The Pioneers' CJ Johnson had a match-high 22 assists while Stephanie Kalinowski led UW-Platteville with 15 digs.

UW-Oshkosh heads to Iowa on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 27-28) to play at University of Dubuque's River City Classic. The Titans open the tournament against host University of Dubuque on Friday.

Photo courtesy of Andy McNeill, UW-Platteville