Titans Conclude Own Invitational Unbeaten
The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team extended its winning streak to five matches with a pair of 3-0 victories at the UW-Oshkosh Invitational on Saturday (Oct. 1) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (16-3), ranked 23rd in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, defeated Saint Mary's College (Ind.) in set scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-16 and Dominican University (Ill.) in results of 25-17, 25-20, 25-17.
Paired with their wins of 3-2 over Trinity University (Texas) and 3-0 over Alma College (Mich.) on Friday (Sept. 30), the Titans concluded their own 10-team invitational as the lone unbeaten team.
UW-Oshkosh's Samantha Jaeke and Lexi Thiel were named to the 12-member All-Tournament Team. Jaeke had 10 kills on 14 attempts in the win over Saint Mary's College while Thiel collected 37 assists against Saint Mary's College and 30 against Dominican University.
Against Saint Mary's College (7-10), UW-Oshkosh held advantages in kills (41-31), hitting percentage (.319 to .198), service aces (10-4), digs (40-30) and blocks (10-4.5).
Carly Lemke had nine kills on .444 hitting and a match-best six blocks for the Titans while Nerissa Vogt contributed eight kils on .538 hitting. Tina Elstner led UW-Oshkosh with nine digs.
UW-Oshkosh trailed for just two points in the first set as consecutive kills by Jaeke gave the Titans the lead for good at 3-2, and her service ace extended the Titans' advantage to 15-10. The Belles pulled within 22-18 on a service ace, but the Titans tallied three of the next four points, including one via a kill by Shannon Herman on set-point.
In the second set, a kill by Lemke provided UW-Oshkosh a 9-8 advantage it would not relinquish. A string of five straight points, which featured kills by Jaeke and Vogt along with three Belles errors, pushed the Titan lead to 15-9. Saint Mary's College got within one point on three occasions, including 23-22, but a pair of Belles errors concluded the set.
Saint Mary's College held a lead for the majority of the third set, but the Titans pulled away late with a run of eight unanswered points for a 23-15 advantage. The skein included three blocks, two kills, a pair of service aces by Laura Trochinski and an error by the Belles. After a point by Saint Mary's College, back-to-back kills by Lemke and Elstner ended the match.
Meaghan Gibbons had a match-high 12 kills for the Belles, who also received 11 kills on 19 errorless attempts from Rachel Bonek, 28 assists from Alexis Grady and a match-best 12 digs from Kaylin Szucs.
In the sweep over Dominican University, the Titans built leads of 24-13 in the opening set and 22-12 in the third. UW-Oshkosh held advantages over the Stars in kills (43-28), hitting percentage (.343 to .117), digs (47-34) and blocks (12-4).
Elstner led all players with 11 kills and seven blocks while Lemke chipped in nine kills on .421 hitting, Jaeke eight kills, Brooke Brinkman seven kills on .400 hitting and Rachel Gardner a match-best 11 digs.
In the first set, UW-Oshkosh scored five consecutive points for an 18-10 lead. The decisive run was highlighted by kills from Elstner, Herman and Jaeke, and a solo block by Lemke. Lemke notched three consecutive kills for a 22-13 lead, and a pair of blocks by Elstner provided the Titans set-point at 24-13.
Dominican University (5-14) raced out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but UW-Oshkosh pulled even at 11 on a block by Jaeke. A kill by Herman sparked a four-point Titan run that culminated in a 20-16 advantage. A block by Elstner gave the Titans a 23-18 edge, and UW-Oshkosh secured the set with a block by Jaeke and a ball-handling error by Dominican University on set-point.
UW-Oshkosh trailed on just the opening point of the final frame as the Titans counted 17 kills on .378 hitting in the set. UW-Oshkosh tallied seven straight points for a 22-12 lead and capped off its 10th three-set win of the season on a kill by Elstner. The Titans' seven-point run was highlighted by a pair of kills by Lemke and one by Elstner.
Kendyl Todd and Rosalyn Wyse paced Dominican University with eight kills apiece.
Jackie Mursuli had a team-leading 24 assists for the Stars while Amanda Ricca collected eight digs and Wyse four blocks.
UW-Oshkosh returns to conference play on Wednesday (Oct. 5), when it travels to face 19th-ranked UW-La Crosse. UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse shared last year's WIAC title with 6-1 records.