HOLLAND, Mich.- The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team faced the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation on Saturday (Sept. 14) during the Hope College (Mich.) September Tournament, beating host and second-ranked program Hope in three sets.
 
The Titans (8-2), ranked No. 6 in the nation by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, faced top-ranked Juniata College (Pa.), which has not lost a match since Sept. 16, 2022. The Eagles (8-0) defeated the Titans 3-1 (20-25, 19-25, 25-18, 20-25). UW-Oshkosh then played the Flying Dutch (8-2) and won for the second consecutive meeting by three sets to none (25-17, 25-22, 25-23).
 
UW-Oshkosh hit .107 with 45 kills on 178 attacks, totaling 51 assists, four aces, seven blocks and 89 digs while Juniata recorded 53 kills (.177) with 42 assists, 10 aces, eight blocks and 79 digs.
 
Riley Kindt (Fifth • Brookfield) logged 13 kills against the Eagles, hitting .233. Sami Perlberg (So. • Chippewa Falls) followed with 10 kills and Kalli Mau (Fifth • Kimberly) registered 21 assists. Izzy Coon (Jr. • Fond du Lac) recorded five aces while Lauren Grier (So. • Fond du Lac) led the team with five total blocks. Abby Fregien (Sr. • Waukesha) and Perlberg each had 23 digs.
 
Oshkosh and Juniata traded points at the start of the first set until the Eagles scored five points to take a 15-11 lead. Two attack errors and a Perlberg kill brought the Titans within a point, however five more Juniata points kept them at a deficit. UW-Oshkosh never trailed by more than six points for the rest of the set and Juniata won 25-20.
 
An early 6-0 spurt for the Eagles gave them an edge in the second set and they never let go. The Titans made the score 7-6 on a 4-0 run with kills from Hannah Moe (Jr. • Oconto) and Perlberg and an ace from Coon, later tying the set up at 12-12. Juniata scored four points, took a 4-point edge and slowly built up a 6-point lead by the end of the set.
 
The Titans scored the first point of the third set and extended their lead to three points on a 4-0 streak with kills from Perlberg and Kindt and another Coon ace. Oshkosh later went 6-0, moving the deficit to nine points at 15-6. The Eagles cut the score to 18-13 by scoring four consecutive points, but the Titans scored four of their own, preserving the lead before they won the set.
 
UW-Oshkosh scored on a kill from Grier and a Malia Winchel (So. • Oak Creek) ace to begin the fourth set. After the Eagles grabbed a 1-point edge, Oshkosh went 5-0 and made the score 8-4. Kindt bookended the run with kills and Coon recorded three aces in the middle. Juniata retook the lead at 9-8 after a 5-0 spurt and built its lead over the rest of the set with three runs of three points, which discounted two 3-point runs for the Titans.
 
Against the Hope, the Titans notched 51 kills, hitting .275 on 131 attacks. They also registered 47 assists, six aces, four blocks and 61 digs.
 
Robyn Kirsch (Sr. • Wausau) led the Titans with 16 kills against the Flying Dutch, hitting a career best .640. She was joined with double-digit kills by Perlberg at 14 (.200) and Kindt at 10 (.240). Mau paced Oshkosh's setters with 27 assists, Winchel hit a trio of aces in the match and Moe recorded three block assists. Fregien once again led the Titans at 17 digs and both Winchel and Perlberg registered 11.
 
Hope owned a small early lead before Kirsch started a 4-0 run for Oshkosh with a kill followed with one from Kindt and another for herself. The Flying Dutch tied the set at 11, 15 and 17 points. A Hope service error broke the tie at 18-17 and the Titans scored seven more points to take the set. During the spurt, Kirsch added two more kills, joined by Moe with two of her own.
 
The Flying Dutch scored six straight points after Oshkosh notched the first point of the second set and even though the Titans tied the score at 8-8, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11 and 21-21 retained the lead until the end of the set. Down 22-21 late, the Titans went 4-0 to swap the lead and take the set.
 
The Titans registered eight of the first nine points in set three and never lost the lead. Both teams scored three straight points before an 8-1 Hope run closed the gap to a point, followed by another run of three points for Oshkosh and Hope. Kirsch ended the set and match with a kill from Mau.
 
The Titans will return home to continue a stretch of matches against ranked opponents, facing No. 4 UW-Whitewater (10-0) on Wednesday (Sept. 18) in their WIAC opener at 7 p.m. UW-Oshkosh celebrates Community Night/Black Out on Wednesday and are encouraged to wear black.