Nationally Ranked Titans Return to Action Tuesday, Saturday
OSHKOSH, Wis.–The nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team will put its eight-match winning streak on the line when it plays three contests this week. The Titans take on host Wheaton College and Edgewood College on Tuesday (Oct. 11) in Wheaton, Ill., before returning home to host Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival UW-River Falls on Saturday (Oct. 15).
Saturday's contest is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (19-4, 3-1 WIAC), ranked 21st in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III poll, has not lost since a 3-1 setback Sept. 17 at Ohio Northern University that extended the Polar Bears' home winning streak to 28 matches. The Titans have not produced a double-digit winning streak since starting the 2014 season with 15 consecutive victories.
The Titans have won four of their last six meetings with Wheaton, their last seven matchups with Edgewood and 10 of the past 11 in the series with UW-River Falls.
UW-Oshkosh's eight-match winning streak began with a 3-1 victory at UW-Platteville on Sept. 21 before continuing with four wins at the North Park University (Ill.) Invitational on Sept. 23-24), a 3-1 triumph at 13th-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Sept. 30, a 3-0 rout over 16th-ranked Augsburg University (Minn.) in Stevens Point on Oct. 1, and a 3-1 home win against UW-La Crosse on Oct. 5.
Through the most updated NCAA statistics, UW-Oshkosh was leading Division III in total kills, digs and assists while ranking seventh in total blocks and 19th in digs per set.
Five Titans have recorded at least 95 kills on the year as Carissa Sundholm is the team leader with 274, followed by Riley Kindt with 220, Robyn Kirsch 179, Hannah Moe 128 and Riley Dahlquist 95. Sundholm is eighth in the country in total kills and 12th nationally in total points (301.5). Kindt paces UW-Oshkosh and ranks 10th in the division with 68 total blocks.
Setters Kalli Mau and Izzy Coon co-direct the UW-Oshkosh offense, dishing out 469 and 324 assists, respectively, this season.
Abby Fregien, who leads the nation in total digs, and Amelia Hust spearhead the UW-Oshkosh backrow defense. Fregien, who also paces the WIAC in digs per set, has scooped up 460 digs while Hust has added 197 digs and a team-high 43 service aces.
UW-Oshkosh has also received 50 blocks and a team-leading .271 hitting percentage from Dahlquist, and 69 kills and 43 assists from Olivia Breunig.
Wheaton (9-8) sports a 4-3 record at home on the year. The Thunder defeated UW-Oshkosh, 3-1, last season in Wheaton.
Caroline Capps and Emerson Traweek lead Wheaton in kills with 161 and 148, respectively.
Edgewood (11-7) has not beaten the Titans since a 3-0 decision in Oshkosh on Sept. 4, 2013.
The Eagles' Abigail Hoffmann, the team leader in kills, ranks second in the nation with four triple-doubles.
UW-River Falls (16-9, 0-4 WIAC) is seeking its first regular season win over the Titans since a 3-1 victory in Oshkosh in 2012. The Falcons snapped a nine-match losing skid in the series with a 3-1 victory at UW-Oshkosh during the first round of the 2019 WIAC Championship. Last season UW-Oshkosh downed the falcons, 3-1, in River Falls during the regular season finale.
The Falcons, ranked 10th in the division in total kills, opened the season with seven straight wins.
UW-River Falls' Kameri Meredith is fifth in the country with 339 kills and sixth nationally with 383.5 points.