Eagles Defeat Titans In WIAC Championship Third-Place Match
Stephanie Henk had a match-best 18 kills to lead UW-La Crosse to a 3-1 victory over UW-Oshkosh in the third-place match of the WIAC Women's Volleyball Championship held Saturday (Nov. 7) in Kolf Sports Center.
Jill Entinger and Leah Putzier added 12 kills apiece as the Eagles won in set scores of 25-22, 25-20, 16-25, 26-24. Entinger led all players with six blocks.
Jaclyn Barrette amassed 53 assists and 12 digs while piloting the UW-La Crosse offense, while Danica Johnson registered a team-best 24 digs.
UW-La Crosse held advantages in kills (59-41), hitting percentage (.189 to .127), service aces (6-4) and digs (70-59). The Eagles, who avenged a 3-0 regular-season loss at UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 7, pounded down 23 kills in the fourth set and 17 in the first.
UW-Oshkosh (26-9), which shared the league's regular-season title with UW-La Crosse, was led by Nerissa Vogt's 10 kills and five blocks.
Brianna Witter had nine kills and five blocks for the Titans, who also received seven kills from both Tina Elstner and Katelyn Malcheski.
UW-La Crosse (20-9) jumped out to a 10-4 lead in the first set. The Eagles extended their advantage to 18-11 before UW-Oshkosh scored four straight points to pull within 18-15. The Titans closed to within 23-21, but the teams traded the next three points to end the frame.
The Eagles reclaimed the lead for good in the second set at 11-10 and tallied four consecutive points for a 23-16 advantage. The Titans scored four of the next five points to cut their deficit to 24-20, but UW-La Crosse converted its third match-point to take a two-set lead.
Neither team led by more than three points in the third set until UW-Oshkosh scored three unanswered points for a 14-10 advantage. UW-La Crosse got within 18-15, but the Titans claimed seven of the last eight points to take the set.
UW-Oshkosh led, 17-14, in the fourth set, but UW-La Crosse rallied to knot the score at 18. The frame was tied again at 20, 22, 23 and 24 before the Eagles ended the match with two straight points.
UW-Oshkosh, which lost a 3-2 semifinal round decision to UW-Stevens Point on Friday (Nov. 6), entered the six-team WIAC Championship ranked 18th in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Eleventh-ranked UW-Whitewater (31-4) won its 15th WIAC Championship crown with a 3-0 victory over 14th-ranked and two-time defending tournament champion UW-Stevens Point (26-8) in the title match. The Warhawks also earned the WIAC's automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA Division III Championship that begins on Nov. 12.
UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point and UW-La Crosse now wait to see if they receive one of 20 at-large bids into the NCAA Division III Championship. The NCAA tournament field will be revealed during an online selection show at 10 a.m. (CST) on Monday (Nov. 9) at ncaa.com.