ST. PAUL, Minn.- The fifth nationally ranked UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball defeated the University of Northwestern (Minn.) and St. Catherine University (Minn.) at Northwestern's Faith Radio Triangular on Saturday (Sept. 21).
 
The Titans (13-2, 1-0 WIAC) started their day against the No. 13 host Eagles (6-5), winning in three set by scores of 25-20, 27-25 and 25-12. Oshkosh recorded 51 kills, 45 assists, four blocks, 54 digs and all nine of the aces in the match.
 
Robyn Kirsch (Sr. • Wausau) hit .500 with 12 kills, followed by Riley Kindt (Fifth • Brookfield) with 11 (.269) and Sami Perlberg (So. • Chippewa Falls) with 10 (.242). Kalli Mau (Fifth • Kimberly) and Izzy Coon (Jr. • Fond du Lac) each had 21 assists and Lauren Grier (So. • Fond du Lac) once again led the Titans in blocks with three. Malia Winchel (So. • Oak Creek) served a career best five aces. Abby Fregien (Sr. • Waukesha) and Perlberg both had double-digit digs at 13 and 12.
 
Leads were traded early in set one until two Eagle errors and a Perlberg ace gave Oshkosh an 8-5 edge. The Titans extended the edge to five points with another 3-point spurt that made the score 21-16 and Kirsch ended the set with a kill.
 
The Eagles took the edge in the second set and kept the score close after Hannah Moe (Jr. • Oconto) hit a kill and Kindt added two more in a 3-0 run for Oshkosh by scoring three straight of their own points. The Titans took the lead again at 19-16 but four consecutive points by Northwestern switched the lead again. An Ana Egge kill brought the set to match point at 25-24 in the Eagles' favor until Olivia Breunig (Sr. • Sauk Prairie) and Kirsch combined for three kills, putting Oshkosh up two sets to none.
 
Grier put Oshkosh up right away in set three and the Titans never looked back. They added to their lead with a run of four points and a later 8-0 spurt scored their 20th point before Northwestern reached 10 points. Kindt started a 3-point streak with a kill, followed by a Perlberg ace and a Kirsch kill that won the match.
 
In their second match of the day, the Titans bested St. Catherine (8-5) 3-0, winning the sets 25-13, 25-17 and 25-18. UW-Oshkosh registered 41 kills, 37 assists, 10 of the 11 aces, six blocks and 50 digs.
 
Kindt's 10 kills (.450) and four blocks led the Titans against the Wildcats. Coon paced Oshkosh's setters with 15 assists and Fregien had 14 digs. Perlberg (4), Kindt (2) and Winchel (2) all notched aces during the match.
 
A Wildcat service error and a Winchel ace put the Titans up 2-0 in the first set and they quickly extended their lead to 15-3 by going on a huge 11-0 run that included two Perlberg aces, two kills by Kirsch, another by Breunig and two Kindt blocks. St. Kate's clawed back within a 10-point deficit twice but couldn't overcome the large score difference.
 
Oshkosh didn't pull away from St. Kate's until a 4-0 run made the score 10-4. The Titans slowly built up their lead the rest of the way with small runs, held the Wildcats to just one 3-0 streak and won the set with four more consecutive points.
 
UW-Oshkosh and St. Kate's exchanged points for the first six serves of the third set and once again, the Titans broke the stalemate, this time with a 6-point run that was followed by a pair of 3-0 spurts. Oshkosh led by as much as 10 points until the Wildcats strung together six points and cut the deficit to three points midway through. Oshkosh retained the lead and pushed it further on kill from Joslyn Wolff (Sr. • Reeseville) and Carly Stamm (So. • Winneconne) and a Kindt ace before Stamm hit another kill, ending the match and the Titans' weekend trip to Minnesota.
 
The Titans will kick off their league schedule at UW-Platteville (10-2, 0-1 WIAC) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Pioneers, who are receiving votes in the most recent AVCA poll, lost to UW-Stout 3-0 in their first WIAC match on Friday (Sept. 20).