Titans Bounce Back To Win Pizza Hut Classic

The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team won its second tournament title in as many weeks by capturing its own Pizza Hut Classic on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 10-11) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (8-1) got off to a rocky start by losing to Elmhurst College (Ill.), 25-22, 25-21, 25-21, before blanking Lake Forest College (Ill.), 25-16, 25-15, 25-11 on Friday.

In the last match of pool play on Saturday morning the Titans beat the University of Texas at Dallas, 25-17, 21-25, 27-25, 25-19 to claim first place after Lake Forest College beat Elmhurst College. In the championship match against the University of Chicago (Ill.), UW-Oshkosh claimed the title with a 25-19, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17 outcome.

Aleisha Bagin (So. • West Bend) picked up the most valuable player award to compliment the same honor she claimed at the Lakeland College Muskie Invitational last weekend. Joining Bagin on the 10-person all-tournament team was Andrea Felton (So. • New Berlin), who notched her first award at UW-Oshkosh.

Bagin led the Titans with 59 kills, while hitting .268 in the four matches. Felton collected 41 kills on a .354 hitting percentage and added 30 assists, 23 digs and seven blocks. Andrea Smith (Sr. • Fond du Lac) provided 27 kills and 50 digs, Morgan Liebetrau (So. • West Bend) dished out 126 assists and scooped up 34 digs, Brittany Gruning (So. • Mukwonago) totaled 18 kills, 14 blocks and eight service aces and Robyn Eggert (Fr. • Woodridge, Ill.) notched 38 digs.

Christina Cahoon (Sr. • Watertown), the reigning NCAA Division III national player of the year, led the team with 79 digs giving her 2,364 career digs, one short of the all-time Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record held by Angie Wildish of UW-Whitewater.

In only their second loss in their last 38 home contests, UW-Oshkosh (8-1) could not overcome a .100 team hitting percentage in their loss to Elmhurst College (4-4). Bagin provided 11 kills, Felton 23 assists and 12 kills and Cahoon 21 digs. Jordyn Bratel (Fr. • Milwaukee) tallied nine kills and Smith picked up nine digs.

In Friday's nightcap UW-Oshkosh had little trouble collecting their fifth straight win over Lake Forest College (3-6). Bagin slammed down 12 kills, Cahoon had 14 digs, Liebetrau 27 assists and eight digs, Smith eight digs and Gruning four blocks. Starting for the first time at right-side hitter, Felton chalked up eight kills on 14 errorless attempts.

Playing their first nationally ranked team of the season, UW-Oshkosh had at least 14 or more kills in each set to outlast first-time opponent University of Texas at Dallas (3-1). The Titans entered the contest as the sixth ranked team in the NCAA Division III and the Comets 20th according to the latest AVCA poll.

Felton provided the offensive spark with a .529 hitting percentage on 20 kills. Liebetrau dished out a career-high 50 assists, Gruning added eight kills and seven blocks, Bagin 18 kills, Smith 10 kills and Larissa Krumplitsch (So. • Appleton) five blocks.

UW-Oshkosh hit the floor for 89 digs in the match, led by Cahoon with 20, Smith and Eggert with 17 and Liebetrau with 15. In the win, UW-Oshkosh handed the University of Texas at Dallas their first regular season loss since the 2008 season.

In the championship match against 25th ranked and undefeated University of Chicago (11-1) the Titans racked up 12 service aces to hand the Maroons their first loss of the season. Gruning led UW-Oshkosh with a career-high six service aces to go along with three blocks.

Cahoon provided 21 digs, Smith 16 digs and 10 kills, Felton 10 kills, Liebetrau 42 assists and nine digs and Eggert and Anna Ruhland (Fr. • Mazomanie) each shoveled up seven digs. Bagin continued her offensive outburst by slamming down 18 kills. In 10 all-time meetings with the University of Chicago, UW-Oshkosh remains undefeated in the series.

UW-Oshkosh returns to action on Tuesday (Sept. 14) against St. Norbert College (7-1) in De Pere.