OSHKOSH, Wis.- On Tuesday (Oct. 1), the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team faced off against Edgewood College and Carthage College at Kolf Sports Center, sweeping the Firebirds after being swept by the Eagles.
 
The Titans (14-4, 1-1 WIAC) lost their first match to Edgewood College (9-8, 2-0 NACC), 0-3 in set scores of 25-11, 25-19, and 25-22. Oshkosh put up 26 total kills and had 10 blocks. Edgewood had 35 kills and 15 blocks.
 
Olivia Breunig (Sr. • Sauk Prairie) led the Titans with seven kills. Lauren Grier (So. • Fond du Lac) had six blocks, as well as five kills. Kalli Mau (Fifth • Kimberly) recorded 12 assists, leading the Titans, and Izzy Coon (Jr. • Fond du Lac) had 11 while Abby Fregien (Sr. • Waukesha) registered 19 digs.
 
The Titans fell behind 7-1 early in the first set and were never able to recover. They attempted a late push, scoring three straight points late, however the deficit was too large to overcome.
 
In the second set, UW-Oshkosh kept it close early, but Edgewood scored seven unanswered points to make the score 11-5. The Titans were unable to catch up and went down two sets to none at 19-25.
 
The Titans started off strong in the third set, opening with four points before the Eagles evened the score at 4-4. Two kills from Breunig helped the Titans regain a 11-10 lead, eventually extending that to 15-11. The Titans then lost that lead, as Edgewood scored five unanswered points, ending in a final set score of 25-22.
 
After Edgewood defeated Carthage (9-5, 2-0 CCIW) in five sets, Oshkosh swept the Firebirds by scores of 25-22, 25-22, and 25-11. The Titans had 46 kills, as opposed to Carthage's 30, and led on blocks, eight to three.
 
Sami Perlberg (Sr. • Chippewa Falls) led the Titans with 12 kills, with Robyn Kirsch (Sr. • Wausau) recording nine and Riley Kindt (Fifth • Brookfield) recording eight . Grier recorded four of the Titans' blocks, leading the team. Coon recorded 22 assists for the Titans, leading in that category and both Fregien (11) and Kirsch (10) reached double-digit digs.
 
After a kill from Kindt in the first set to put the Titans up 3-1, they never trailed, fended off a 4-0 Firebird run and won 25-22. Hannah Moe (Jr. • Oconto) delivered the final kill of the set for the 25th point.
 
Similarly in set two, a kill from Kindt put the Titans up 5-4, and they once again retained the lead the rest of the way, extending the edge with three runs of at least three points. Moe had back-to-back kills for the 23rd and 24th points, and the Titans won the set 25-22.
 
In the final set, the Titans took an early 6-1 lead with kills from Breunig and Kindt and two points from the service line by Coon, never looking back. A 6-0 spurt with a kill by Kirsch, another from Grier and a Kindt ace put Oshkosh up 14-5. Moe repeated her feat from the first set, delivering the final kill of the match, as the Titans won the third set 25-11.
 
The Titans will play their third conference matchup of the year against UW-Stout (7-5, 1-1 WIAC) on Friday (Oct. 4) at home in the first day of the second triangular of the week. They will then play Carroll University (16-4, 0-2 CCIW) on noon on Saturday (Oct. 5).