WHITEWATER, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball took on Colby College (Maine) at Kris Russel Volleyball Arena at Williams Center in Whitewater on Saturday (Oct. 25) in top-25 matchup. The Titans won the five-set match to earn their fifth top-25 win of the season.
 
In the program's first-ever meeting, No. 3 nationally ranked Oshkosh (23-2, 5-0 WIAC) defeated No. 10 Colby (18-2, 7-1 NESCAC) by set scores of 17-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-15, 15-9. The Titans held slight edges in most statistical categories by recording 85 points, 64 kills, 62 assists, and 83 digs while tying with the Mules with 12 team blocks and holding a 9-5 lead in service aces.
 
Samantha Perlberg (Chippewa Falls/Chippewa Falls) registered her fourth 20-plus kill double-double of the season with 25 kills and 13 digs and Grace Juergens (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Community) posted 18 kills and 11 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. The pair combined for 107 total attacks and committed a total of 11 errors. Perlberg also recorded three block assists and a service ace for 27.5 points.
 
UW-Oshkosh's top setters again both reached the 20-assist mark in the contest with Izzy Coon (Fond du Lac/St. Mary's Springs Academy) holding 29 and Jaclyn Dutkiewicz (Franklin/Franklin) notching 26 by the end of the match. Both added a trio of service aces while Coon led the Titans with 19 digs.
 
Lauren Grier (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) blocked Mule attacks nine times with one solo and eight assists.
 
Colby followed two Oshkosh points at the beginning of the first set with seven consecutive and extended its lead to 11-4 with a 4-0 run. A kill by Clare McEniry (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary) and Coon's first ace later brought the Titans within a pair of points at 13-11, however the Mules rolled out another four-point spurt to increase their lead once again. The teams largely traded points for the remainder of the set until the Mules notched three straight points to win.
 
The Mules tied the score, 12-12, after Oshkosh paired short runs of three points with holding Colby to a point at a time to open the second set. The Titans responded with a 9-2 run that included five kills, two blocks, and two unforced errors. After a 5-1 Colby spurt, Oshkosh went 3-1 to tie the set score at 1-1.
 
In the third set, Colby jumped out to another early lead and fought off a tie at 11-11 with six points. The Titans tied the score at 20-20 and stayed with the Mules through the 23rd point, but Colby earned a pair of kills to win set three.
 
The programs traded runs throughout the fourth set; however, a 2-0 start was all Oshkosh needed to retain the lead for the entirety. The Titans used mid set runs of four and three points to hold the edge and tied the set score at 2-2 with five consecutive points – two kills, two aces, and an unforced error.
 
Oshkosh and Colby traded points for the first eight serves before the Titans broke away when Perlberg registered back-to-back-to-back kills for an 8-6 lead. After the Mules scored their final two points, the Titans scored five in a row, including two kills and two blocks, for the win.
 
The Titans return to Whitewater on Wednesday (Oct. 29), facing No. 8 UW-Whitewater at Kris Russell Volleyball Arena for their penultimate WIAC match at 7 p.m. Oshkosh has won each of its last two regular season matches against the Warhawks.