Titans Fall To A Pair Of Ranked Teams

Jordyn Bratel (So. • Milwaukee) totaled 22 kills and six blocks as UW-Oshkosh dropped a trio of matches at the UW-Whitewater Women's Volleyball Invitational on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 21-22) in Whitewater.

The Titans (17-15) went up against teams that have a combined record of 70-17. Carthage College (24-5) topped UW-Oshkosh by a 3-0 score on Friday. While Carthage College is the 10th-ranked team in the NCAA Division III, the Titans' next opponent was Wittenberg University (Ohio), the fourth-ranked squad in the country. Both Wittenberg University (26-3) and Wartburg College (Iowa) defeated UW-Oshkosh by a 3-0 score on Saturday.

In their contest with Carthage College, the Titans were on the short end of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-22 scores. Kayla Powers (Jr. • Tomahawk) hit .500 and marked eight kills, while Morgan Liebetrau (Jr. • West Bend) booked 23 assists. Sarah Petermann (So. • Appleton) tacked on 19 digs for UW-Oshkosh.

Wittenberg University, posting wins of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20, limited the Titans to a hitting percentage of .024. Morgan Nick (Fr. • Fond du Lac) led the way with nine of her team's 24 kills, to go along with 15 assists and 14 digs from Liebetrau.

UW-Oshkosh finished the tournament with its best effort, as it hit .345 during the third set of its 25-17, 25-18, 25-22 defeat to Wartburg College (20-9). Bratel (nine kills) and Liebetrau (28 assists) again ran the offense. The defensive leader was Larissa Krumplitsch (Jr. • Appleton), who contributed four blocks.

For the event, Nick totaled 19 kills in three matches. Petermann topped the squad with 37 digs, while Liebetrau posted 66 assists. UW-Oshkosh hit .119 overall.

The Titans have their next challenge against UW-Whitewater on Wednesday (Oct. 26) in Kolf Sports Center.