Challenging Schedule Draws Near For Titans
Defending WIAC champion UW-Oshkosh faces a challenging women's volleyball schedule in 2016 as it plays 12 teams that appeared in last year's NCAA Division III Championship.
UW-Oshkosh's 33-match schedule starts at the Emory University Classic on Sept. 2-3 in Atlanta, Ga. The event features the Titans playing three opponents who received at-large bids to the 2015 NCAA postseason.
UW-Oshkosh (26-9 record in 2015) opens the season by taking on the College of Saint Benedict (Minn.) and Emory University on Sept. 2. The Titans conclude the tournament with contests against Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) and 2012 national champion University of St. Thomas (Minn.) (9-17) on Sept. 3.
Last season, Emory University (34-4) finished second in the University Athletic Association and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Championship. The Eagles enter the 2016 campaign ranked fourth in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
The College of Saint Benedict (18-10) and Birmingham-Southern College (25-6) also appeared in last year's NCAA postseason. Birmingham-Southern College, a second-place finisher in the Southern Athletic Association, lost to Emory University in the second round while the College of St. Benedict, a third-place finisher in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, suffered defeat in the first.
UW-Oshkosh, which enters its trip to Georgia ranked 25th in the nation, will also play 2015 NCAA postseason participants Carthage College, Dominican University (Ill.), Elmhurst College (Ill.), Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.), University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Minn.), UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Whitewater.
After its season-opening tournament, UW-Oshkosh travels to Madison for matches against Edgewood and Wheaton (Ill.) colleges on Sept. 6. Edgewood College (24-10) won the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) title last season while Wheaton College (12-17) placed fifth in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW).
The Titans conduct the first of two home regular-season tournaments with the nine-team Pizza Hut Classic on Sept. 9-10. UW-Oshkosh will play Milwaukee School of Engineering (12-18) and Millikin University (Ill.) on Sept. 9 and The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) and Concordia University Wisconsin (18-12) on Sept. 10. Millikin University (23-13) was a tri-champion of the CCIW a year ago while Concordia University Wisconsin placed third in the NACC and The College of St. Scholastica (16-13) fourth in the Upper Midwest Conference (UMAC).
UW-Oshkosh then plays three straight matches against Midwest Conference (MWC) opponents before beginning conference play. The Titans travel to Ripon College (12-13) on Sept. 13 and to Appleton Sept. 14 to play St. Norbert College (14-18) and Lawrence University (8-19). Ripon College tied for last year's MWC title while St. Norbert College placed third in the league and Lawrence University fifth.
UW-Oshkosh's WIAC opener is at UW-Whitewater on Sept. 21. The Warhawks (31-5) begin the year ranked 14th in the country after making their 24th consecutive NCAA postseason appearance a year ago. UW-Whitewater finished third in last year's WIAC standings behind co-champions UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse but earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Championship by winning the WIAC Tournament.
Following a visit from WIAC foe UW-Platteville on Sept. 28, the Titans' second home tournament is the 10-team UW-Oshkosh Invitational on Sept. 30-Oct. 1. UW-Oshkosh will battle Trinity University (Texas) and Alma College (Mich.) (12-16) on Sept. 30 and St. Mary's College (Ind.) (15-13) and Dominican University on Oct. 1. Last season, Dominican University (25-10) claimed its fourth consecutive NACC Tournament title and NCAA championship automatic berth while Trinity University (24-13) finished fourth in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference.
UW-Oshkosh returns to WIAC action at UW-La Crosse on Oct. 5 and then at home against UW-Eau Claire on Oct. 7. Rounding out the Titans' conference schedule is a home match against 15th-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 19 and road contests at UW-River Falls on Oct. 28 and UW-Stout on Oct. 29.
Following UW-La Crosse, UW-Oshkosh and UW-Whitewater in last year's WIAC standings were fourth-place UW-Eau Claire (27-10, 4-3 WIAC) and UW-Stevens Point (27-9, 4-3); sixth-place UW-Stout (16-18, 2-5); seventh-place UW-River Falls (14-21, 1-6); and eighth-place UW-Platteville (11-20, 0-7).
Rounding out UW-Oshkosh's schedule are four matches at the Sandy Schumacher Memorial Tournament in Eau Claire on Oct. 14-15, three matches at the UW-Whitewater Invitational on Oct 21-22 and a pair of tilts in Waukesha on Oct. 26.
The Titans will play Gustavus Adolphus College and University of Northwestern-St. Paul on Oct. 14 and University of Minnesota Morris and Martin Luther College (Minn.) on Oct. 15 in Eau Claire.
Gustavus Adolphus College (27-3) swept both the regular season and tournament titles in the MIAC a year ago while the University of Northwestern-St. Paul (28-9), which advanced to the third round of last year's NCAA Championship, accomplished the same feat in the UMAC. The University of Minnesota Morris (21-12) and Martin Luther College (5-25) placed second and fifth in the UMAC, respectively.
At the UW-Whitewater Invitational, UW-Oshkosh opposes Carthage and Loras (Iowa) colleges on Oct. 21 before playing Elmhurst College on Oct. 22.
Carthage College (35-8) and Elmhurst College (24-12) tied for the CCIW regular season title last year, and Carthage College clinched the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship by winning the CCIW Tournament. Carthage College, which reached the national semifinals last season, enters the year ranked eighth in the country. Loras College (22-13) was the runner-up in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference last season.
In Waukesha, the Titans play Carroll and Lakeland universities. Carroll University (12-17), which returns to the CCIW this season, finished fourth in the MWC last year while Lakeland University (17-15) placed fourth in the NACC.
UW-Oshkosh returns 13 letter winners this season, including senior middle blocker Nerissa Vogt, who received All-WIAC and All-Midwest Region first team honors a year ago. Vogt ended the 2015 season ranked third in the NCAA Division III with 169 blocks and eighth with 1.31 blocks per set. She appeared in 34 matches (129 sets) and listed second on the team with 315 kills.
In addition to Vogt, the other four starters returning for 13th-year UW-Oshkosh head coach Brian Schaefer (330-108 coaching record) are sophomore outside hitter Tina Elstner, sophomore middle blocker Carly Lemke, senior setter Lexi Thiel and sophomore right-side hitter Brianna Witter. Thiel ranked 26th in the NCAA Division III last season with 1,207 assists.
The Titans also welcome back senior outside hitter Brooke Brinkman, an all-conference honorable mention selection in 2014.
UW-Oshkosh, which began practice for the 2016 season on Aug. 22, will host the final three rounds of the NCAA Division III Championship on Nov. 17-19 in Kolf Sports Center.