Titans Overcome Another 2-0 Deficit To Defeat Pioneers

Katelyn Malcheski had a season-high 20 kills as the nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team erased its second straight two-set deficit en route to a 3-2 victory at UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Sept. 30).

UW-Oshkosh (14-3, 2-0 WIAC), ranked 19th in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, won by set scores of 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-12. The Titans also stormed back from a two-set deficit in their last match to defeat 13th-ranked UW-Whitewater on Sept. 23.

Malcheski eclipsed her previous season best of 19 kills by hitting .275 on 40 swings against UW-Platteville. Nerissa Vogt added 13 kills and three blocks for the Titans, who also received nine kills and 14 digs from Laura Trochinski, and match high totals of 54 assists from Lexi Thiel and 27 digs from Mandy Trautmann.

The Titans, who won their fifth straight match and improved to 2-0 in conference play for the seventh time in 11 seasons, had advantages in kills (66-59), hitting percentage (.204 to .189) and digs (73-53). UW-Platteville (9-9, 0-2 WIAC) had edges of 4-3 in service aces and 9-6 in blocks.

The Pioneers tallied five straight points to take an 8-3 lead in the first set and extended their advantage to 16-6 behind 10 UW-Oshkosh errors, including seven on the attack. The Titans closed to within one point at 23-22 on a kill by Trochinski and at 24-23 on a kill by Thiel, but UW-Platteville escaped with the set victory on a UW-Oshkosh service error.

UW-Platteville opened the second set with a 9-5 lead. UW-Oshkosh tied the set at 12 and claimed a pair of one-point advantages at 17-16 and 18-17. The set was tied for the 11th time at 19 before the Pioneers recorded consecutive kills for a 21-19 edge. UW-Platteville received a kill from Lidia Frias for a 24-21 advantage and went on to win the frame on a ball-handling error on the second set point.

UW-Oshkosh took its first lead of the third set at 16-15. The Titans extended their run to seven straight points and their lead to 19-15 after a service ace by Eilish Regan and two UW-Platteville errors. UW-Platteville responded with seven of the next nine points to reclaim a 22-21 advantage on a kill by Lauren Grady, but the Titans recorded the last four points of the set on a kill by Trochinski, a Pioneer attack error, and a solo block and a kill by Vogt.

The Titans ran out to an 11-5 lead in the fourth frame after three consecutive errors by UW-Platteville. The Pioneers scored five unanswered points to knot the set at 15. Consecutive kills by Thiel and Malcheski provided UW-Oshkosh with a 20-17 cushion, and a UW-Platteville error pushed the Titan lead to 21-17. A kill by Allison Rueger put the Titans ahead, 24-20, and a kill by Malcheski ended the set two points later.

UW-Platteville jumped out to a 5-1 advantage in the final set after three straight kills. UW-Oshkosh responded with a kill by Vogt and two terminations by Tina Elstner to pull within 5-4. Malcheski then recorded three consecutive kills to give the Titans an 8-7 lead.

A kill by Grady gave UW-Platteville its last lead of the contest at 11-10 as the Titans closed out the match by scoring five of the last six points, including one on a kill by Elstner, two on kills by Vogt and one on a combination block by Elstner and Vogt.

Grady led the Pioneers with 17 kills, followed by Frias with 14 kills and a match-best six blocks and Kelley Lynch with 12 kills and a team-leading 12 digs. Allie Carter paced UW-Platteville with 37 assists.

The last four meetings between the Titans and Pioneers in Platteville have all gone to five sets, with each team winning twice.

UW-Oshkosh travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., for the Pikes Peak Challenge this weekend. The Titans play 15th-ranked Elmhurst College (Ill.) and host and ninth-ranked Colorado College on Friday (Oct. 2), and Cornell College (Iowa) on Saturday (Oct. 3).