Titans Tally A Trio Of Victories In New York

UW-Oshkosh rattled off three consecutive wins before falling to a top-10 team at the Purple & Gold Women's Volleyball Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 30-Oct. 1) in Rochester, N.Y.

The Titans (12-8) knocked off Rochester Institute of Technology (N.Y.) and Nazareth College (N.Y.) to begin the event on Friday. UW-Oshkosh then swept Baptist Bible College (Pa.) and took a 3-0 loss to Heidelberg University (Ohio) on Saturday. Heidelberg University is currently ranked eighth in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Against Rochester Institute of Technology (9-13), the Titans won by scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 25-18. UW-Oshkosh hit at least .188 in each set (.275 overall) and used 12 kills by Morgan Nick (Fr. • Fond du Lac). A total of 31 points were set up by Morgan Liebetrau (Jr. • West Bend), while she also compiled eight digs. Sarah Petermann (So. • Appleton) led the squad with 14 digs.

Nazareth College (12-8) took an early lead during its match, but UW-Oshkosh fought back for a 22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21, 15-12 triumph. Jordyn Bratel (So. • Milwaukee) handled the scoring duties with 12 kills, in addition to her 16 digs. The Titans prevailed thanks to 18 assists by Alison Tomczyk and 20 more digs by Robyn Eggert (So. • Woodridge, Ill.).

UW-Oshkosh's best performance, hitting .305, came against Baptist Bible College (7-12). The Titans were able to pull out wins of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-23. Nine different players marked a kill, with seven coming from both Nick and Kelsey Mauer (Jr. • Sheboygan Falls). Liebetrau compiled 10 assists, as Danielle Stoppenbach (Fr. • Burlington) marked a team-best 11 digs.

During the final match of the road trip, Heidelberg defeated the Titans by a 25-22, 25-20, 25-20 count. The setback gave UW-Oshkosh second place in the seven-team field. Petermann and Larissa Krumplitsch (Jr. • Appleton) each slammed eight kills, but the Titans couldn't overcome their 25 total errors. Liebetrau racked up 19 assists and Eggert 17 digs to pace the squad.

Bratel and Mauer were each named to the All-Tournament Team, which featured Heidelberg's Venessa Haase as the MVP. For the event, Nick had 32 kills, Liebetrau notched 72 assists and Kayla Powers (Jr. • Tomahawk) booked 12 blocks. Eggert topped the Titans with 53 digs and eight service aces.

UW-Oshkosh heads to Stevens Point to face St. Norbert College and Lawrence University on Tuesday (Oct. 4).