Top-Seeded Titans Host WIAC Championship
UW-Stevens Point vies for its third straight title at the WIAC Women's Volleyball Championship hosted by UW-Oshkosh Friday and Saturday (Nov. 6-7) in Kolf Sports Center.
Fifth-seeded UW-Stevens Point (25-7) won its first-round match, 3-2, at fourth-seeded UW-Eau Claire (26-9) on Tuesday (Nov. 3) to advance to the semifinals. In Tuesday's other match, third-seeded UW-Whitewater (29-4) defeated sixth-seeded UW-Stout (16-18), 3-0, in Whitewater.
Friday's semifinals feature second-seeded UW-La Crosse (19-8) playing UW-Whitewater at 5 p.m. and top-seeded UW-Oshkosh (26-7) battling UW-Stevens Point at 7:30 p.m.
The semifinal winners square off in the championship match on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. A third-place match will precede the title tilt at noon.
The WIAC Championship winner will earn the league's automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship that begins Nov. 12.
UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse earned the top two seeds and first-round byes after sharing the WIAC regular season title with 6-1 records. The host Titans secured the top seed and hosting rights for this weekend's tournament by virtue of their 3-0 victory over the Eagles on Oct. 7 in Oshkosh.
UW-Whitewater concluded the WIAC slate with a 5-2 record, while UW-Stevens Point owned a 4-3 mark.
UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater are all ranked in the top 18 teams nationally by the American Volleyball Coaches Association as UW-Whitewater lists 11th, UW-Stevens Point 14th and UW-Oshkosh 18th.
UW-Oshkosh is led by WIAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Katelyn Malcheski, league Defensive Player of the Year Mandy Trautmann and Nerissa Vogt, an all-conference first team honoree.
Malcheski ranks second in the league with 386 kills this season, while Vogt's 157 blocks rank third in the country and her .285 hitting percentage fourth in the WIAC. Trautmann leads the WIAC with 5.47 digs per set this season after leading all of Division III with 833 digs last year. She enters the tournament tied for second in league history with 2,575 career digs.
UW-Oshkosh won a share of its 12th regular season title and seeks its fifth tournament championship. The Titans have appeared in all 28 WIAC tournaments.
UW-La Crosse is led by WIAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Jill Entinger and All-WIAC first team member Jaclyn Barrette.
Entinger paces the conference with a .358 hitting percentage and ranks third on the Eagles with 292 kills and second with 88 blocks, while Barrette is the conference leader with 10.96 assists per set.
UW-La Crosse secured a share of its 10th regular season championship and looks to win its second tournament crown during its 24th appearance.
UW-Whitewater is led by All-WIAC first team honorees Staci Hasler and Lauren Pfeifer. Pfeifer has recorded a league-leading 415 kills this season, while Hasler's 44 aces rank second in the conference and her 1,135 assists fourth.
UW-Whitewater, which has won 14 of the 27 tournament championships, has appeared in all 28 conference tournaments, compiling a 60-16 record.
All-WIAC first team members Hannah Picel and Gabby Thomas lead UW-Stevens Point, which has advanced to the Division III Championship semifinals the past two seasons. Picel ranks second in the conference with 5.19 digs per set, while Thomas lists sixth with 315 kills.
The Pointers are making their 25th WIAC Championship appearance.
UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater have met in the WIAC Championship final the past two seasons. The Pointers defeated the Warhawks, 3-0, last year and 3-1 in 2013.
Daily ticket prices for the WIAC Women's Volleyball Championship are $7 for adults, $5 for senior citizens and $3 for students (K-12). All college students are admitted free with ID card.