HOLLAND, Mich.- The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team began the Hope College (Mich.) September Tournament with a 3-0 win over Otterbein University (Ohio) on Friday (Sept. 13) before facing two nationally ranked opponents on Saturday (Sept. 14).
 
The Titans (9-1) defeated the Cardinals (6-2) in three sets by scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-10 and are now hold a 3-0 record since 2002. UW-Oshkosh most recently won in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship in Grand Rapids, Mich.
 
UW-Oshkosh, ranked No. 6 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, hit .161 with 34 kills on 118 total attacks, recording 31 assists, nine blocks, and 53 digs. Otterbein, which is receiving votes in the most recent poll, recorded 36 kills on 130 attacks for a .085 hitting percentage with 34 assists, five blocks, and 59 digs.
 
Riley Kindt (Fifth • Brookfield) paced the Titans with 10 blocks (.389) and six block assists. Kalli Mau (Fifth • Kimberly) and Izzy Coon (Jr. • Fond du Lac) both registered 13 assists while Abby Fregien (Sr. • Waukesha) notched 16 digs. Sami Perlberg (So. • Chippewa Falls) also reached double-digit digs with 10.
 
The Cardinals leapt out to an early lead in the first set, scoring two straight points and four more after Oshkosh recorded two points of its own. The Titans tied up the set at 12-12 with kills from Coon and Robyn Kirsch (Sr. • Wausau) and took the lead with a 3-0 spurt that included a kill by Lauren Grier (So. • Fond du Lac) and an ace by Malia Winchel (So. • Oak Creek). The lead then swapped three times until Kindt kicked off a 4-point run with a kill that Perlberg capped off with an ace. An unforced attack error by the Cardinals gave the Titans a 1-0 set lead.
 
Perlberg, Hannah Moe (Jr. • Oconto) and Kindt all recorded kills in Oshkosh's run that gave the Titans a 4-1 edge at the start of the second set. Oshkosh held the lead until two points for Otterbein made the score 11-10, however the Titans scored two points of their own and never lost the lead. The Cardinals kept the score close, never trailing by more than two points, but dropped the set to Oshkosh 25-23.
 
The third set saw Oshkosh win by 15 points, the largest deficit of any set for the Titans so far this season. The teams traded points to open and the Titans then went on to score six straight. Grier began the run with a kill and the remaining six were all unforced errors. Spurts of four and five points increased Oshkosh's lead to 19-7 while Otterbein only scored at least two points once. In the final five points scored by the Titans, Moe hit one kill and Kindt recorded two more.
 
The Titans face the toughest two-match stretch of their schedule on Saturday, playing No. 1 and defending national champion Juniata College (Pa.) at 11:30 a.m. ET and No. 2 and 2023 national runner-up Hope College at 2 p.m. ET.