Four Titans Collect All-Region Status
Following the lead of the All-WIAC first team selections, the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team had four players named to the All-Midwest Region first team. The selections marked the first time in school history that the Midwest Region first team included four Titans.
Named to the team from UW-Oshkosh were Katie Beining (Sr. • Brookfield), Christina Cahoon (Jr. • Watertown), Jacque Ray (Sr. • Richland Center) and Katelyn Vara (Sr. • New Berlin).
UW-Oshkosh's Aleisha Bagin (Fr. • West Bend) was named the Midwest Region Freshman of the Year.
Rounding out the 14-person first team included Kayla Leyden from Benedictine University (Ill.), Katie Lundgren, Michelle Madeja and Rachel Swoboda from Carthage College, Katherine Roessler from Concordia University Wisconsin, Brittanie Paulus from Lakeland College, Kelsey England from Millikin University (Ill.),Melissa Hillebrand from UW-Platteville, Kelsey Scheele from UW-River Falls and Caitlin Hogan from UW-Whitewater.
Ray, a middle blocker, claimed first team laurels for the second straight year after leading the Titans with 443 kills and 116 blocks. She started 41 of 42 matches for UW-Oshkosh, reaching double-digits in kills in 24 matches, including a season-high 19 against UW-Platteville on Nov. 7.
Ray garnered Sports Imports/American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Player of the Week honors the week of Oct. 26 - Nov. 1, after being named the outstanding player at the Trinity University (Texas) Invitational.
Cahoon, a libero, received her second consecutive first team award, leading UW-Oshkosh with 928 digs and 50 service aces. She started all 41 matches she participated in and reached double-digits in digs in all but one match. She posted a career-high 40 digs in a four-set win over Christopher Newport University (Va.) in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Championship on Nov. 19.
Beining, a right-side hitter and Vara, a setter, were both named to the squad for the first time. Beining was second on the team in kills with 377 and added 362 digs and 47 service aces. Beining started 41 of 42 matches for the Titans, registered double digit kills in 19 contests, including a season-high 19 in a four-set win over St. Norbert College on Sept. 15.
Vara tallied 1,478 assists, 326 digs and was second on the team with 77 blocks. Starting all but one match for UW-Oshkosh, Vara dished out 50 or more assists on four occasions. She provided a career-high 22 digs and added 50 assists in a four-set victory over St. Norbert College on Sept. 26.
Bagin made an immediate impact for the Titans finishing third on the team with 336 kills and added 93 digs and 48 blocks. She posted a career-high 16 kills in a four-set wins over the University of Chicago (Ill.) on Sept. 12 and UW-Whitewater on Sept. 23.
Brian Schaefer was named the Midwest Region Coach of the Year for the second straight season and third time in his career. He also won the award in 2005. Schaefer directed the Titans, who compiled a 29-match winning streak to start the season, to the 10th conference title in program history and a perfect WIAC mark for the first time since 1990. He owns a 189-29 record in six seasons in charge of the Titans.
UW-Oshkosh reached the top spot in the national rankings for the first time in school history, holding the honor for six weeks during the 2009 campaign. The Titans have been ranked in the top-15 of the NCAA Division III poll every week since Sept. 27, 2005, a span of 56-weeks. The Titans finished the 2009 season as the third-ranked team in the country.