OSHKOSH, Wis.- It took all five sets, and the fifth nearly went to 25 points, but the UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team defeated UW-Platteville on Thursday (Nov. 14) and moved on to its second consecutive WIAC Tournament (Presented by Culver's) championship matchup with UW-Whitewater.
 
The No. 5 nationally ranked Titans won the first set in extra points, 26-24, before the Pioneers, ranked No. 17 by the American Volleyball Coaches Association took sets two and three by scores of 25-21 and 25-20. Oshkosh evened it up at 2-2 with a 25-19 set four victory to force the deciding fifth set. The home six came back from a 4-point deficit and won 20-18, clinching a trip to the tournament title match.
 
Over the course of the match, UW-Oshkosh recorded 73 kills to UW-Platteville's 68, also leading 66-60 in assists and 123-118 in digs. The Pioneers held edges in aces (4-3) and blocks (14-7).
 
Sami Perlberg (So. • Chippewa Falls) led all attackers with 24 kills, hitting .243 on 74 total attacks. She posted a double-double by digging 18 shots. Joslyn Wolff (Sr. • Reeseville) recorded a season-high 16 kills, followed by Riley Kindt (Fifth • Brookfield) at 12 and Olivia Breunig (Sr. • Sauk Prairie) with 11.
 
Izzy Coon (Jr.  • Fond du Lac) was the Titans' top setter, registering a career best 34 assists while Kalli Mau (Fifth • Kimberly) registered 26.
 
Abby Fregien (Sr. • Waukesha) notched 33 digs, a season high and the first of four Titans that had at least 15 digs. Malia Winchel (So. • Oak Creek) had 20, Coon had 19, and Perlberg had 18. At the net, Lauren Grier (So. • Fond du Lac) blocked five attacks, while Perlberg, Kindt, and Breunig all recorded two blocks.
 
Oshkosh climbed back from an early 4-1 hole and tied the first set at 8-8 with a 4-point run bookended by kills from Wolff and Breunig. The Titans later led by as much as five points four times until the Pioneers retied it at 23-23 after a 6-1 spurt. Perlberg pushed the set to 24-23 match point before Emma Carlson notched a kill of her own, making the score 24-24. An attack error and a Breunig kill put Oshkosh up 1-0.
 
In the second set, Platteville jumped out to an early lead and led by as much as five points. A late Oshkosh run made the score 21-19, however the Pioneers took the set and made the set score 1-1.
 
The Pioneers grabbed a 2-1 set edge by overcoming the Titans' 5-1 set three opening run and breaking an 8-8 tie with eight straight points. Carly Stamm (So. • Winneconne) kicked out five consecutive Titan points that cut the deficit to 17-14, but UW-Platteville retained the lead and took the set lead.
 
Not to be counted out, UW-Oshkosh broke away with four points and secured a 15-11 lead midway through the fourth set and never relinquished the edge. A later 3-point run extended the Titans' lead to six points and both teams scored three points the rest of the way.
 
The Pioneers were the first to eight points in set five and were looking to make their first trip to the league's tournament title match since 2010 before kills by Wolff, Kindt and Emmy Wizceb (So. • Johnsburg, Ill.) evened up the score at 13-13. Oshkosh and Platteville tied at 14-14, 15-15, 16-16, 17-17, and 18-18. After Perlberg scored the Titans' 18th point, a Pioneer attack error put Oshkosh up 19-18 and Perlberg hit her 24th kill to win the set and match.
 
The Titans will face off with No. 7 UW-Whitewater at Kolf Sports Center on Saturday (Nov. 16) at 7 p.m. for the WIAC Tournament championship match. This year marks the second consecutive UW-Oshkosh and the Warhawks play in the title match; Whitewater took last season's tournament crown with a 3-0 victory on Nov. 11, 2023.
 
The Warhawks, seeded third in the tournament advanced to Saturday's tilt by defeating sixth-seeded UW-Stout 3-0 at home on Tuesday (Nov. 12) and two seed UW-Stevens Point 3-0 on the road on Thursday.
 
In the conference rivals' regular season match in Oshkosh on Sept. 18, the Titans took the 3-2 victory in front of a Community Night crowd of over 2,000 fans.