Titans Tame Yellowjackets, Lions
Carissa Sundholm produced a match-high 15 kills during the first match of the day, Ellie Wanous had a career-high 11 kills on 12 attempts in the second contest, and the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team closed out its inaugural Marty Petersen Invitational with a pair of victories Saturday (Oct. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (17-6) downed UW-Superior, 3-1, in set scores of 25-19, 25-27, 25-19, 25-21 before trouncing Finlandia University, 3-0, in scores of 25-15, 25-12, 25-14.
The Titans, who have dropped two sets in their eight home matches this year, extended their winning streak to 28 matches against UW-Superior (10-15). UW-Oshkosh and Yellowjackets were meeting for the first time since 2014, when UW-Superior left the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Conference for the Upper Midwest Conference. UW-Superior's last win over UW-Oshkosh was a 3-0 decision during the consolation round of the 1992 WIAC Championship.
UW-Oshkosh and Finlandia met for first time since a 3-0 Titan victory in 2001.
The Titans, who beat Luther College (Iowa) by a 3-1 score Friday (Oct. 11), finished the Marty Petersen Invitational with a 3-0 record. Shelby Coron and Kate Nottoli represented UW-Oshkosh on the six-member All-Tournament Team. Coron recorded 34.5 points, 27 kills on .333 hitting, 19 digs and seven blocks in the Titans' three wins while Nottoli had 24 kills on .500 hitting and six blocks.
During the win over UW-Superior, the balanced Titan offense featured five players with at least eight kills, including Samantha Jaeke with 10, Nottoli and Kendall Enyart with nine apiece, and Coron with eight. Sundholm's 15 kills marked her fifth match in double figures this season.
Rebecca Doughty recorded her third double-double of the year and ninth career with a match-high 26 assists and 14 digs for the Titans, who also received 23 assists from Emma Kiekhofer, a match-leading 22 digs from Rachel Gardner, five blocks from both Coron and Wanous, and four service aces from Becky Brezen.
UW-Oshkosh concluded the contest with advantages of 57-41 in kills, .181 to .141 in hitting percentage, 73-65 in digs and 12-7 in service aces. The Titans' 12 service aces were a season high. Luther College held a 13-8 edge in blocks.
The opening set was tied for the sixth and final time at 12 before a Rachel Aasby kill gave the Titans the lead for good at 13-12. Aasby's termination sparked a string of five points in a row for UW-Oshkosh that included kills from Coron and Enyart, and a Doughty service ace. UW-Oshkosh upped its lead to 24-16 on a Coron service ace, and Sundholm ended the set with a kill four points later.
UW-Oshkosh owned a lead for most of the second set, including advantages of 20-16 and 24-19, until UW-Superior staved off five straight set-points with a pair of kills and a trio of Titan errors. The Yellowjackets survived another set-point at 25-24 and went on to win the set following three more UW-Oshkosh errors.
The Titans responded with the first six points of the third set on Sundholm's serve and maintained a lead for the remainder of the frame. UW-Superior cut its deficit to 14-13, but UW-Oshkosh answered with kills by Coron and Jaeke, and a double-block from Coron and Wanous on the next three points for a 17-13 cushion. Back-to-back terminations from Enyart and Nottoli provided the Titans set-point at 24-18, and Sundholm capped the frame with a kill.
UW-Oshkosh then reclaimed the lead for good at 16-15 in the fourth set following a Brezen service ace. Consecutive kills by Sundholm, Wanous and Enyart increased the Titan advantage to 19-15. After UW-Superior erased four match-points, Jaeke eventually secured the UW-Oshkosh victory with a kill.
Cami Sletta paced UW-Superior with 11 kills while Brylee Colligan and A.J. Runck added eight and seven terminations, respectively. Runck led all players with seven blocks. Sletta went on to represent the Yellowjackets on the Marty Petersen Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Gina Baertsch had 21 assists and Megan Holz dished out 14 for the Yellowjackets, who also received a match-leading 25 digs and four service aces from Yana Carrera.
During the sweep over Finlandia University, UW-Oshkosh collected 10 service aces and hit .348 as two Titans – Wanous and Claire Bresser – earned their first starts of the season, and Brianna Vettese spelled Gardner as the UW-Oshkosh libero against a Lions squad that dressed just six players.
Wanous, who entered the match with 15 career kills, compiled an .833 hitting percentage against Finlandia University and tied Coron for the team lead with 11.5 points. Coron contributed nine kills, a career-best nine digs and a pair of service aces.
Bresser had a season-best eight kills, Nottoli chipped in six terminations on nine swings and Brynna Mayer added four on nine errorless attempts.
Kendal Watwood registered a season-high 25 assists while directing the Titan offense, which hit better than .300 for the fourth time this year. Vettese scooped up a career-high 11 digs for UW-Oshkosh while Morgan Dunn had three service aces.
UW-Oshkosh amassed overwhelming advantages of 44-13 in kills, .348 to .016 in hitting percentage, 39-28 in digs, 10-3 in service aces and 4-1 in blocks. The Titans pounded down 17 kills on .412 hitting during the third set.
The Titans pulled away in the first set on the strength of a 6-1 run for a 17-11 lead. The decisive run featured kills by Bresser, Enyart and Nottoli, and a double-block from Enyart and Nottoli. Wanous registered a pair of kills to reach set-point at 24-15, and a Lion attack error concluded the frame.
UW-Oshkosh got out to a 10-3 cushion in the second set after a Bresser kill. A Nottoli termination extended the Titan lead to 15-4 before the Titans capped the set with two Coron kills and a combination block from Enyart and Wanous on the final three points.
Finlandia University (0-19) mustered its only leads of the match at 2-1 and 4-3 early in the third set. Leading 15-13, the Titans concluded the contest with 11 of the final 12 points. Coron had a kill and two service aces while Bresser, Mayer, Nottoli and Wanous each added kills during the match-ending run.
Taylor Hendrick accounted for eight of the Lions' 13 kills.
UW-Oshkosh travels to Lakeland University on Wednesday (Oct. 16).