Ninth-Ranked Bears Hand Titans First Loss Of Season

The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team split two matches at the ASICS Invitational hosted by Washington University (Mo.) on Saturday (Sept. 5) in St. Louis.

The Titans (5-1) swept the University of Dallas (Texas) by set scores of 25-13, 25-9, 25-17 before falling, 3-1, to host Washington University in a battle of unbeaten squads by set scores of 20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 20-25. The host Bears (6-0), who have lost just five of their last 101 home matches since 2010, own an NCAA Division III-record 10 national championships and are currently ranked ninth in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

UW-Oshkosh concluded play at the ASICS Invitational with a 3-1 record. On Friday, (Sept. 4) the Titans defeated Webster University (Mo.), 3-0, and Hanover College (Ind.), 3-1.

In Saturday's opening match against the University of Dallas, UW-Oshkosh limited the Lady Crusaders to 25 kills and a -.018 hitting percentage behind a season-high 11 blocks.

Titan Laura Trochinski had 10 kills and 12 digs for her ninth career double-double. Nerissa Vogt added eight kills on 12 errorless attempts and seven blocks. Mandy Trautmann, who led the NCAA Division III in digs last season, paced the Titans with 19 digs, while Lexi Thiel provided 33 assists.

UW-Oshkosh hit .256 with 15 kills in Set 1, .364 with 10 kills in Set 2 and .229 with 12 kills in Set 3. The University of Dallas hit .000 in Set 1, -.188 in Set 2 and .098 in Set 3.

The Titans opened the first set with an 11-3 lead behind four kills by Trochinski. Leading 21-13, UW-Oshkosh scored the last four points of the frame.

UW-Oshkosh tallied 19 of the last 22 points of the second set, including a six-point run to end the frame in which the Lady Crusaders committed 12 attack errors.

The Titans raced out to a 7-2 advantage in the final set, and the University of Dallas never got closer than three points the rest of the match.

Just three of the 10 Lady Crusaders who played in the match hit for a positive percentage. Mairin Guilfoyle led the team with eight kills on .036 hitting. Jessie Koster had a match-high 20 digs for the University of Dallas, which received a team-leading 12 assists from Elizabeth Smith.

UW-Oshkosh held advantages in kills (37-25), service aces (4-2), digs (54-48) and blocks (11-2). The Lady Crusaders committed 30 total errors, including 27 on the attack, while the Titans ceded just 12 points on errors, including 10 on the attack.

Against host Washington University, the Bears had five players reach double-digit kills as Allison Zastrow dished out a career-high 54 assists to go along with 10 digs.

Caroline Dupont and Nkiru Udenze paced Washington University with 14 kills apiece, followed by Jackie Nelligan with 12 kills, and Amanda Palucki and Alex Sheredy both added 10 kills. Sheredy and Udenze joined Zastrow with double-doubles as they contributed 12 and 22 digs, respectively.

Washington University, which has won all 13 meetings in the series with the Titans, held advantages in kills (63-45), hitting percentage (.225 to .172) and service aces (6-3), while UW-Oshkosh had edges in digs (80-76) and blocks (9-6).

In the first set, the Bears scored four straight points to take a 5-2 lead and remained ahead for the rest of the frame. The Titans pulled within 17-16 on an attack error, but Washington University claimed eight of the last 13 points to win the set.

UW-Oshkosh raced out to an 11-7 lead in Set 2 after a service ace by Thiel. A six-point run pushed the Titans' advantage to 21-14, but the Bears answered with seven consecutive points, including four on attack errors, to knot the score at 21. After the set was tied at 22 and 23, the Titans evened the match on an attack error and a kill by Allison Rueger on set point.

The Titans jumped out to a 6-1 advantage in Set 3 after the third of three straight kills by Trochinski. The Bears responded with five consecutive points to even the score at 6. The set was tied for the sixth and final time at 18 before Washington University took control with back-to-back kills by Udenze and Sheredy. Consecutive terminations by Rueger and Vogt brought UW-Oshkosh within 24-23, but a kill by Palucki gave Washington University a 2-1 lead in sets.

Trailing 14-11 in Set 4, Washington University strung together six straight points on three kills and three Titan attack errors and maintained a lead of at least two points for the rest of the match.

Rueger led UW-Oshkosh with 14 kills, followed by Vogt with 10 kills and a team-best five blocks and Trochinski with nine kills and 13 digs. Thiel had a team-high 33 assists and 17 digs in addition to four blocks and three kills for her 12th career double-double.

Thiel and Trautmann were named to the eight-member all-tournament team, which also featured Dupont, Nelligan and Palucki from Washington University; Koster from the University of Dallas; Cara Howell from North Central College (Ill.); and Emily McLendon from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.).

UW-Oshkosh travels to Sheboygan on Tuesday (Sept. 8) for contests against Carroll University and host Lakeland College.

Photo courtesy of Danny Reise