Titans Cruise To Sweep Of Red Hawks
All 17 Titans in uniform recorded at least one dig or one kill as the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 victory over Ripon College during the opening match of the Pointers Invitational II on Friday (Sept. 24) in Stevens Point.
UW-Oshkosh (8-7) earned its 17th consecutive win against Ripon College (8-8), sweeping the Red Hawks in set scores of 25-11, 25-22, 25-9.
The Titans outhit Ripon College, .295 to -.021, and owned advantages of 37-19 in kills, 41-35 in digs, 6-5 in blocks and 4-2 in service aces. UW-Oshkosh, which established a season best in hitting percentage, held an opponent to a negative attack percentage for the first time since Wheaton College (Ill.) hit at a -.062 rate against the Titans on Sept. 21, 2019.
The UW-Oshkosh defense entered the day ranked second in the NCAA Division III with 115 total blocks and seventh nationally with 940 total digs.
Riley Kindt led all players with 10 kills on 17 swings for the Titans, who also received seven terminations from Olivia Breunig, five apiece from Kate Nottoli and Courtney Pearson, four from Brynna Mayer and three from Holly Baierl.
Kindt, who has now paced the Titans in kills on 10 occasions this season, hit .529 on Friday. Breunig attacked at a .500 clip, Nottoli .444 and Baierl .400. Nottoli and Madyson Pearson both had a team-leading three blocks.
Kalli Mau and Emma Kiekhofer dished out 21 and eight assists, respectively, while co-piloting the balanced Titan offense. Amelia Hust scooped up nine digs and Abby Fregien eight to lead the UW-Oshkosh backrow defense. Hust went into the match ranked seventh in the country with 273 total digs.
Ripon College team leaders included Lydia Ellis with seven kills, Riley Nielsen with 14 assists, Lani Harris with seven digs, and Akela Van and Inesha Wiseman with four blocks apiece.
The Titans outhit the Red Hawks, .417 to -.125 during the first set as UW-Oshkosh scored six straight points to extend its lead to 16-6 on a double-block by Nottoli and Madyson Pearson. The Titans later put the set away on back-to-back kills from Mayer and Courtney Pearson.
Ripon College tallied the first two points of the second set and held a 13-12 edge until a Breunig kill knotted the score, Kindt followed with a solo block and the Titans never trailed for the remainder of the set. Tied at 17 during the second frame, a Red Hawks service error provided the Titans a lead they would not relinquish as three combined kills by the Pearson accounted for UW-Oshkosh's final three points of the set.
UW-Oshkosh went on to outhit the Red Hawks, .290 to -.083, in the third set that featured Titan leads of 7-1 and 10-2. Ripon College scored the opening point of the last set, but UW-Oshkosh responded with the next seven, including via kills by Breunig, Nottoli and Kindt. A Mayer solo block later upped the Titan cushion to 15-4.
The Titans conclude their trip to Stevens Point with Saturday (Sept. 25) matches against St. Olaf College (Minn.) and University of Chicago (Ill.). University of Chicago is ranked 16th in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.