Titans Lose WIAC Championship Semifinal In Five Sets

Mandy Trautmann's record-breaking performance was not enough as UW-Stevens Point slipped past UW-Oshkosh, 3-2, in a battle of nationally ranked teams during the semifinal round of the WIAC Women's Volleyball Championship held Friday (Nov. 6) in Kolf Sports Center.

Trautmann shattered her own program record with 47 digs, moving her into second place in the conference record book with 2,622 in her career, but UW-Stevens Point recorded six of the last eight points of the match to secure the victory in set scores of 25-18, 17-25, 28-26, 18-25, 15-13.

Fifth-seeded UW-Stevens Point (26-7), ranked 14th in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, advances to play for the WIAC title against third-seeded and 11th-ranked UW-Whitewater (30-4) at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 7) in Kolf Sports Center.

In Friday's other semifinal match, UW-Whitewater defeated second-seeded UW-La Crosse (19-9), 3-1, behind 14 kills and five blocks from Lauren Pfeifer.

Saturday's championship match involves UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater for the third consecutive year, with the Pointers winning the two previous contests over the Warhawks.

A third-place match at noon between top-seeded and 18th-ranked UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse will precede the title game, which will determine the WIAC's automatic qualifier into the 64-team Division III Championship.

UW-Oshkosh held advantages in kills (64-52), hitting percentage (.120 to .109), service aces (7-5) and digs (126-122), but UW-Stevens Point had a 15-14 edge in blocks and committed fewer errors, including 36-28 on the attack and 10-3 on serve.

Kelly Cefalu, Emma Brunkhorst and Gabby Thomas led UW-Stevens Point with 13 kills apiece. Brittany Laffin registered 44 assists and 14 digs for the Pointers, who also received 32 digs from Hannah Picel, 25 digs from Thomas, eight blocks from Brunkhorst and six blocks from Ellen Drewry.

Trautmann's 47 digs eclipsed her own program record of 41 set in 2013 and ranks as the third highest in conference history, trailing only UW-Platteville's Tori Fowler with 54 in 1990 and UW-Stout's Casey Huntoon with 48 in 2007.

UW-Oshkosh's Nerissa Vogt matched her career high with 18 kills to lead all players. She also added nine digs and seven blocks, increasing her total to 164 blocks on the season.

Katelyn Malcheski had 15 kills and three service aces for the Titans, while Brianna Witter contributed 12 kills and Lexi Thiel notched her 20th career double-double with a match-high 54 assists, 14 digs and six blocks.

UW-Stevens Point registered three straight kills to take a 13-10 lead in the opening set and held onto the lead for the remainder of the frame. UW-Oshkosh pulled within 21-18, but the Pointers tallied the last four points of the set on two Titan errors and kills by Brunkhorst and Laffin.

UW-Oshkosh raced out to a 10-4 advantage in the second set on a kill by Vogt. UW-Stevens Point trimmed its deficit to 12-10 on a kill by Thomas, but the Titans answered with three consecutive points, extended their lead to 19-12 on a kill by Vogt and evened the match on a kill by Malcheski on the second set point.

The Titans had leads of 13-9 and 17-13 in the third set before the Pointers scored six of the next seven points to reclaim a 19-18 advantage on a service ace by Bri Piepenbrok. Consecutive kills by Thomas gave UW-Stevens Point a 21-19 lead, and a combination block by Brunkhorst and Marie Krengel gave the Pointers a 23-21 cushion.

UW-Oshkosh responded with three straight points to reach set-point at 24-23 on a service ace by Malcheski, but UW-Stevens Point pulled out the third frame after fending off another set-point at 25-24 and counting the final two points on a kill by Cefalu and a Titan attack error.

The Titans jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the fourth set and led by at least three points to send the match to a fifth and decisive session. UW-Oshkosh recorded six blocks during the set and limited UW-Stevens Point to a -.075 hitting percentage on six kills and nine attack errors in the frame.

UW-Oshkosh led 11-9 in the fifth set before a Drewry kill and a Titan attack error tied the frame for the sixth and final time at 11. Two more Titan errors gave the Pointers a 13-11 advantage. The teams traded the next two points, providing UW-Stevens Point with match-point at 14-12. A kill by Tina Elstner erased the first match-point, but Cefalu concluded the contest with a kill on the next point.

UW-Oshkosh, which had its eight-match home winning streak snapped, fell to 7-4 in five-set matches this season. UW-Stevens Point, which won its WIAC first-round match at UW-Eau Claire in five frames, improved to 7-3 in five-set matches on the year.