Titans Sweep Invite Competition
Elmhurst, Ill.- The No. 13 nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team added two wins on Saturday with wins over Carthage College (Wis.) and Elmhurst University (Ill.).
The Titans (25-4, 5-1 WIAC) kept the win streak alive in their first game on Saturday with a win over Carthage College (18-8, 5-2 CCIW). The match went the distance with the Titans defeating the Firebirds in five sets: 22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 26-29, 15-8. Carissa Sundholm led the Titans with 24 kills, her second most kills in a match on the season (29 vs. University of Chicago - Sep. 23). Riley Kindt and Joslyn Wolff followed Sundholm with 17 and 10 kills, respectively. Kalli Mau led the Titans with 29 assists. Izzy Coon led the Titans with three aces.
The first set started off slow for the Titans, going down 0-5 to the Firebirds before scoring their first point. The Titans climbed their way back within three from an Abby Fregien ace to make the set 3-6 before falling behind by more than three again until a Hannah Moe kill brought the Titans back within three making the score 18-21. They couldn't keep that momentum going though, losing the set 22-25.
The Titans bounced back with a 25-15 win in the second set, quickly scoring five points. Mau had two aces within the first five points scored. The Titans never went on another long scoring run, but a later 6-2 run put the Titans up 19-9. The Firebirds never got back within eight in a ten-point second set win for the Titans.
Oshkosh kept the momentum in the third set, winning 25-16. The Titans raced out to a 3-0 lead. A 6-1 run that made the score 15-9 forced Carthage to call a time out. Four Titans had a kill, and Riley Dahlquist had an ace in the run. The Titans finished the set on a 10-7, trading points the whole way but never letting the Firebirds score more than two in a row.
In a fourth set that went to extra points, the Titans fell behind early, giving up three straight points before scoring their own, then giving up another four. Dahlquist brought the game within one (9-10) with an ace, but the Firebirds pulled away again. A later 8-2 run put the Titans up by three, but the lead would not last long with Carthage scoring four consecutive points. The Titans and Firebirds traded points the rest of the set, eventually tying up at 27. The tie wouldn't last though, and the Titans would lose the match 27-29.
The Titans finally finished off the Firebirds in the fifth set, winning 15-8. The Titans jumped out to a 5-1 lead with three Titan kills. Carthage brought the set back to within three on a kill from Katie Boston, but the Titans pulled away again, never letting it slip away. Two kills from Sundholm, both coming from Mau, ended the set and the match.
Oshkosh (26-4, 5-1 WIAC) finished the road trip with another win, this time over Elmhurst (6-16, 3-4 CCIW). That match also went five sets: 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11. Mau had 39 assists, Fregien had 25 digs and Sundholm had 18 kills.
The Titans only trailed by five points once in the first set and were tied with the Bluejays eight times throughout the set but were only able to build as much as a two-point lead of their own in a 21-25 first set loss. A late 4-point run put them up 19-17 with two Sundholm kills, but Elmhurst came right back and took a lead they never lost again.
The second set fell in the Titans favor, with them winning 25-21. They jumped ahead to an early lead they would never give up. The biggest scare of the set happened after the Titans built an 18-13 lead that turned into the 19-19 tie disappeared in a 5-1 Elmhurst run. Oshkosh was able to bounce back though and make a 6-2 run of their own to win the set.
The Bluejays took the third set, by a score of 23-25. The teams stayed within two points of each other until a Coon ace made the score 8-5 and forced Elmhurst to take a timeout. Elmhurst quickly tied the set back up at eight, causing Oshkosh to take a timeout of their own. The teams would then largely trade points until Elmhurst broke a 23-23 tie to score the last two points and win the set.
Down two sets to one, the Titans jumped out to a lead the Bluejays would only break twice, and even then, only by a point. The largest run either team had was for three points, Elmhurst's to tie the set at nine, and Oshkosh's to break a 14-14 tie. After breaking the tie at 14, the Titans never let Elmhurst tie the set again, winning 25-20.
The Titans finished the match with a 15-11 win in the abbreviated fifth set. Breaking an early 3-3 tie, the Titans built a lead they never gave up, going 12-8 the rest of the way. They never scored more than two points in a row, but never allowed Elmhurst to score more than once in a row.
The Titans return to action at home on Oct. 26 to face Ripon College (Wis.) at Kolf Sports Arena at 7 p.m.