STEVENS POINT, Wis.- In its final regular season nonconference match of the season, UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball defeated the University of Chicago (Ill.) 3-0 on UW-Stevens Point's Shirley Enger Court at Berg Gym on Saturday (Nov. 2).
 
In the match between two nationally ranked programs, No. 6 UW-Oshkosh recorded 50 kills against No. 18 UChicago's 24 as it won in set scores of 25-23, 25-14 and 25-16. The Titans also led .295-.097 in hitting percentage, 43-20 in assists, 5-4 in service aces, 4-3 in blocks, and 53-46 in digs.
 
Individually, Sami Perlberg (So. • Chippewa Falls) led Oshkosh with 16 kills, hitting .406 on 32 total attacks. Riley Kindt (Fifth • Brookfield) hit 11 kills on 25 attacks for a .320 hitting percentage. Kalli Mau (Fifth • Kimberly) was the Titans' top setter, recording 21 assists while Izzy Coon (Jr. • Fond du Lac) added 18. From the service line, Malia Winchel (So. • Oak Creek) added three points while Abby Fregien (Sr. • Waukesha) tallied 19 digs.
 
The first set was the closest of the night. While Oshkosh jumped out to an early 4-0 edge, it never led by more than four points. The Maroons closed the gap to a point with four points over their own to make the score 11-10. Over the rest of the set the tie was scored eight times before a service error brought the Titans to match point and Joslyn Wolff recorded the winning kill.
 
The teams remained within three points of each other in the second set until Lauren Grier (So. • Fond du Lac) kicked off a 6-point run with a kill. Grier added two more kills, Perlberg registered one and Winchel notched another ace during the run. Runs of three and four points extended the deficit before an unforced error gave the Titans a 2-0 set lead.
 
In set three, an early UChicago lead evaporated on two Perlberg kills and an Olivia Breunig (Sr. • Sauk Prairie) block that put Oshkosh up 4-3. The Titans never trailed again. They led by six points at 13-7 and seven points at 18-11 before eventually taking a 9-point edge at 25-16 when Perlberg and Kindt tallied a pair of kills to wrap up nonconference play.
 
The Titans will host UW-River Falls on Friday (Nov. 8) at 7 p.m. for their final match of the regular season before the WIAC Tournament (Presented by Culver's) begins the following Tuesday (Nov. 12). As of Saturday, Oshkosh holds the top seed and would receive a bye in the first round, opening postseason play in the semifinals at home against the winner of the four and five seed match.