Titans to Play Stevens Point in WIAC Tournament
OSHKOSH, Wis.- The second-seeded UW-Oshkosh Titans women's volleyball team will face the third-seeded UW-Stevens Point Pointers on Thursday in Kolf Sports Center at 7 p.m. in the semifinals of the 2022 WIAC women's volleyball tournament.
How They Got Here
The Titans went 30-4 overall, and 6-1 in regular-season conference play this season. They only lost to UW-Whitewater; 1-3 in their first conference match of the year. They have not lost a match since Sep. 17, falling 1-3 to Ohio Northern University. In the 19 matches since, they have swept ten opponents. With the number two seed, the Titans received a bye in the first round of the WIAC tournament.
The Pointers finished the regular season with a 24-6 overall record, going 4-3 in conference play. With the first-round win over sixth-seeded UW-River Falls, Stevens Point is on a five-game winning streak.
Last Matchup
The Titans and Pointers last saw each other on Sep. 30 in Stevens Point. Oshkosh defeated the Pointers in four sets: 16-25, 25-23, 29-27, 25-21. Notable players for Oshkosh were Carissa Sundholm (19 kills, 16 digs), Abby Fregien (16 digs), Kalli Mau (26 assists and 2 aces) and Amelia Hust (10 digs, 2 aces). Notable players for Stevens Point were Ashley Kopp (22 kills, 16 digs), Grace Michalske (41 assists) and Emma Peterson (27 digs).
Titan Preview
Oshkosh leads the WIAC with 2,100.5 points, scoring 16.41 points per set. Their defense allows the second least number of kills per set at 10.23. Carissa Sundholm leads the Titans with 442 kills on the season, recently surpassing 1,000 career kills against Wisconsin Lutheran College on Oct. 29. Her 442 season kills ranks second in the league and sixth in the nation. Kalli Mau holds the top spot on the team in assists with 724. Abby Fregien leads the WIAC and is ranked third in the nation with 668 digs. Amelia Hust is second in the league in aces, with 60.
Pointer Preview
Stevens Point is second in the WIAC in total digs with 1,954, recording 17.14 digs per set. Ashley Kopp leads the league in kills (506), averaging 4.44 per set. That is good for third in the nation. She has recorded the most points in the nation, with 564.5 points on the season. Grace Michalske has 1,047 total assists, which is second in the league and seventh in the nation. Emma Peterson ranks second in the league with 539 total digs.
Looking Forward
If the Titans defeat the Pointers, they will face the winner of the #1 UW-Whitewater/ #5 UW-Platteville match on Saturday at a time and place to be announced. The winner of the WIAC tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA National Championship.
National Rankings
The Titans moved up to No. 8 in the nation in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, moving up four spots from being ranked twelfth in the nation last week.
The Pointers are currently ranked at No. 15, moving up two spots from last week's No. 17 ranking.
The full AVCA ranking list can be found here.