Carissa Sundholm's 14 kills for UW-Oshkosh were not enough as nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire defeated the Titans, 3-1, during a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball contest Friday (Oct. 1) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Eau Claire (15-2, 3-0 WIAC), ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, won the match in set scores of 25-27, 25-21, 25-18, 25-15.

In a matchup featuring two of top blocking teams in the country, UW-Eau Claire finished the night with advantages of 50-39 in kills, .174 to .033 in hitting percentage, 67-61 in digs and 15-6 in blocks. UW-Oshkosh held a 5-4 edge in service aces. UW-Eau Claire went into Friday pacing the nation with 139 total blocks and 2.53 blocks per set while the Titans were second nationally with 136 total blocks.

Joslyn Wolff added eight kills for UW-Oshkosh (10-8, 0-3 WIAC), which also received five terminations apiece from Brynna Mayer and Kate Nottoli, 19 assists and nine digs from Kalli Mau, 11 assists and seven digs from Emma Kiekhofer, 22 digs from Amelia Hust, and eight digs and three service aces from Abby Fregien. Hust entered the match ranked fifth in the division with 323 digs.

Jordan Witzel led the Blugolds with 14 kills. Arianna Barrett collected 11 kills on .391 hitting with five blocks for UW-Eau Claire, Makenzie Bachmann contributed 10 terminations and 15 digs, and Kendra Baierl chipped in seven kills and a match-high eight blocks.

Charlie Nelson distributed 41 assists and scooped up nine digs while directing the UW-Eau Claire offense. Sheridan Dettmann had 14 digs and a pair of service aces for the Blugolds.

UW-Oshkosh did not trail in the first set after scoring the opening three points of the match. The Titans upped their lead to 23-19 following a Sundholm kill. However, the Blugolds knotted the score at 23, 24 and 25 before the Titans put the frame away on a Mayer kill and a UW-Eau Claire attack error.

UW-Eau Claire bolted out to a 5-0 Set 2 lead, but the Titans bounced back to take an 8-7 advantage after back-to-back kills by Sundholm and Mayer. The Blugolds responded with four unanswered points of their own and maintained a lead for the remainder of the set.

The Blugolds took a 15-14 lead during the third set on a Bachmann kill and closed out the frame on an 11-4 run that included seven kills and a pair of blocks. UW-Oshkosh then scored the first point of the fourth set before UW-Eau Claire reclaimed a 3-2 advantage it would not relinquish.

UW-Oshkosh remains at home to host UW-Platteville for a WIAC match Wednesday (Oct. 6) in Kolf Sports Center.

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics