Titans Receive 17th NCAA Postseason Invitation
UW-Oshkosh received one of 21 at-large berths into the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship, the NCAA announced with an online selection show on Monday (Nov. 7).
The Titans will face Bluffton University (Ohio) in the opening round of the Whitewater Regional at 3 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 10) in UW-Whitewater's Williams Center.
UW-Oshkosh will be making its 17th appearance in the national tournament and first since 2014.
UW-Oshkosh (28-7) earned the second seed at the Whitewater Regional while Bluffton University (23-8) is seeded seventh. The Titans and Beavers will play in the regional's second match on Thursday.
Third-seeded Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) will oppose sixth-seeded Heidelberg University (Ohio) in the regional's opening match at 12:30 p.m. while fourth-seeded Hope College (Mich.) faces fifth-seeded Elmhurst College (Ill.) at 5:30 p.m. Thursday's final match has top-seeded UW-Whitewater playing eighth-seeded Greenville College (Ill.) at 8 p.m.
The winners of Thursday's matches will meet Friday (Nov. 11), with the victors of Thursday's first two contests playing at 4:30 p.m. and the survivors from the final two games battling at 7 p.m. The Whitewater Regional championship match will be contested at 7 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 12).
The 64-team Division III Championship is comprised of eight eight-team regional sites. Winners of the regional tournaments will convene at UW-Oshkosh's Kolf Sports Center for the final three rounds on Nov. 17-19.
UW-Oshkosh finished in a three-way tie for first place in the WIAC standings, marking the Titans' second straight and 12th overall league title.
The Titans lead the country with 337.5 blocks and rank second nationally with 2.66 blocks per set.
UW-Oshkosh is led by All-WIAC first team selections Tina Elstner and Samantha Jaeke and honorable mention all-league performers Carly Lemke, Lexi Thiel and Nerissa Vogt.
Elstner, a sophomore left-side hitter, paces the team with 390 kills and 39 service aces while listing second on the squad with 351 digs.
Jaeke, a freshman right-side hitter, is second on the Titans with 321 kills, a .251 hitting percentage, 36 service aces and 106 blocks while Lemke, a sophomore middle blocker, has contributed 195 kills on team-best .272 hitting with 86 blocks.
Thiel, a senior setter, leads the conference with 1,213 assists and Vogt, a senior middle blocker, has a team-leading 107 blocks. Thiel also ranks fourth on the team with 306 digs and Vogt sixth with 133 kills.
UW-Oshkosh also features freshman libero Rachel Gardner, freshman outside hitter Shannon Herman and senior defensive specialist Laura Trochinski. Gardner highlights the Titan back row with 354 digs while Trochinski has chipped in 309. Herman ranks third on the squad with 202 kills.
The Titans split their first four matches of the season before reeling off nine consecutive victories. UW-Oshkosh reached the 20-win mark for the fifth straight season and the 17th time in 18 years.
UW-Oshkosh is coached by Brian Schaefer, who has guided the Titans to a 13-year record of 358-115. He has led UW-Oshkosh to the NCAA postseason eight times, including trips to the national quarterfinals in 2008 and 2009.
Bluffton University earned the automatic berth from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) with a 3-1 victory as the second seed over top-seeded Hanover College (Ind.) in the championship match of the league tournament. The Beavers are seeking their first NCAA postseason win in their eighth appearance.
The Beavers, making their fourth straight trip to the national tournament, rely on an offense that paces the HCAC with 13.19 kills per set and a .208 hitting percentage.
Bluffton University senior left-side hitter MacKenzie McFarlin leads the HCAC in several statistical categories, including kills (395), attacks (1,142) and points per set (4.10).
The Beaver offense is directed by sophomore setter Erin Weisgarber, who leads the HCAC with 10.21 assists per set. She also ranks second on the team with 266 digs and fourth with 144 kills. Senior middle blocker Lauren Weisgarber has a league-best .338 hitting percentage and paces the team with 74 blocks while ranking second on the squad with 353 kills.
Junior libero Sydney Mohler has a team-best 566 digs for the Beavers, who have also received 267 kills from sophomore outside hitter Bethany Martini, 245 digs from sophomore defensive specialist Abby Rohrbach, and 116 kills and 218 digs from junior left-side hitter Becca Tourney.
UW-Whitewater (27-6) earned the WIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament field with its 3-1 triumph as the top seed over second seeded UW-La Crosse in the league championship match.
Washington University in St. Louis (22-10), Elmhurst College (22-12) and Heidelberg University (23-9) each earned at-large berths into the Division III Championship. Hope College (25-5) outlasted Calvin College (Mich.) in the title match of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament and Greenville College (25-7) secured an automatic berth by downing Westminster College (Mo.) in the championship contest of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Whitewater Regional will feature five teams ranked in the top 25 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Hope College is ranked 10th, UW-Whitewater 11th, Washington University in St. Louis 14th, Elmhurst College 18th and UW-Oshkosh 20th.
WIAC representative UW-La Crosse (22-5), ranked 13th nationally, also received an at-large berth in the NCAA postseason. The Eagles open play against the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) (22-8) at the St. Paul (Minn.) Regional on Thursday.
UW-Oshkosh also made NCAA postseason appearances in 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014. The Titans were the national runners-up in 1994 and finished among the final four teams in 1991, 1996 and 2009.
2016 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Field Announced
2016 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship Interactive Bracket