Titans Tame Pointers In Nationally Ranked Battle

OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team defeated UW-Stevens Point on Tuesday night (Sept. 26) in front of one of the largest crowds in NCAA Division III history.

At the inaugural Community Night in Kolf Sports Center, the No. 3 nationally ranked Titans (18-0, 2-0 WIAC) repaid a record-breaking crowd of 2,725 fans with a 3-1 with over the No. 17 ranked Pointers (12-3, 1-1 WIAC). The Titans took sets one, three and four by scores of 25-13, 25-18 and 26-24. The Pointers won the second set 25-14.

Riley Kindt led UW-Oshkosh with 12 kills on 26 attacks for a kill percentage of .286 It was her 12th double-digit kill match of the season. Sami Perlberg and Robyn Kirsch recorded nine and seven kills of their own. Kalli Mau and Izzy Coon each recorded 21 and 15 assists and Abby Fregien added 24 digs to her conference-leading total of 259.

The Titans, who lead the nation in assists (807) and kills (848), registered 38 assists and 39 kills in the match.

The Titans won and lost sets one and two in nearly identical ways. In set one, the Titans turned a 7-5 lead into a 17-7 lead thanks in part to back-to-back aces from Amelia Hust. In set two, the Titans took a slow start and despite a run to make it 11-19, they were unable to come back as the Pointers leveled the set score at one a piece.

UW-Oshkosh was able to overcome a 5-1 run by Stevens Point to start the third set. It took its first lead since the first set at 10-9 and used it to set up a 25-18 win.

The Titans held a 2-1 lead over the Pointers headed into the fourth set, the same score as last season's WIAC Semifinal matchup between the teams at Kolf on Nov. 3. before dropping the fourth and fifth sets. They rattled off seven consecutive points for an early 7-1 lead and reversed the script on the Pointers on Tuesday, keeping the lead until two three-point runs gave Stevens Point a late 20-19 lead. A Pointer attack error tied the set at 24-24 and a Dahlquist kill and Pointer set error ended the set and match.

Final attendance for Tuesday's match was 2,725, shattering the previous home attendance record of 969 against Juniata College on Dec. 6, 1996, in the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament. The attendance ties for third all-time in Division III regular season history with a Hope College (Mich.) Calvin University (Mich.) match on Oct. 28, 2009, in Grand Rapids, Mich. It was also the highest attended match since Wittenberg University (Ohio) and Juniata College (Pa.) played in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament in Huntingdon, Pa. on Nov. 15, 2015.

The Titans return to action for two matches on Saturday (Sept. 30). They will face the University of Chicago (Ill.) at 11 a.m. and take on No. 2 Hope in a neutral site match at 1:30 p.m.