BLOOMINGTON, Ill.- UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball lost for the first time in over a month and was swept for the first time this season on Friday (Oct. 31) when Illinois Wesleyan University won the first match of its home tournament at the Shirk Center.
 
In a match between two teams named the Titans, No. 3 nationally ranked Oshkosh (24-3, 6-0 WIAC) hit .167 with 32 kills and 13 errors on 114 total attacks against No. 6 Illinois Wesleyan's (22-2, 7-0 CCIW) .280 with 48 kills. The Illinois Titans also led 8-2 in service aces, 45-31 in assists, and 64-49 in digs while the northern program earned a 6-3 edge in team blocks.
 
The 11-25, 25-27, 18-25 loss was the first against Illinois Wesleyan since 2018 and the Titans are 5-3 against the team since 2009.
 
Samantha Perlberg (Chippewa Falls/Chippewa Falls) recorded a 16-kill, 12-dig double-double with a service ace and a solo block for 18 points. Izzy Coon (Fond du Lac/St. Mary's Springs Academy) had a team best 14 assists, followed by 12 from Jaclyn Dutkiewicz (Franklin/Franklin), while Callie Panasuk (Oak Creek/Oak Creek) matched Perlberg with 12 digs.
 
Illinois Wesleyan's early 3-0 run gave it a lead in the first set that it would not give up. While holding the Titans to just three spurts of two points, IWU added streaks of four, three, five, and seven points to take the set.
 
UW-Oshkosh responded with the first three points of the second set, including an opening ace from Grace Juergens (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Community) and a block by Perlberg. The Titans later extended their lead to 13-6 with a pair of 3-0 runs before five IWU points decreased the deficit to 13-11. Oshkosh retained the edge through their 23rd point until Illinois Wesleyan tallied a trio of points to go up 24-23. Perlberg brought the set to the potential final point by notching back-to-back kills, but IWU scored on the next three serves.
 
By building up a 10-3 led, Illinois Wesleyan was able to weather a 6-point run by the Titans in set three before three more points flipped the lead to 12-11. The Illinois Titans then went 10-2 in the following dozen of serves to go up, 21-14, before both teams scored four points down the stretch.
 
The Titans will play the three-time defending Division III champion, and No. 5 team in the nation, Juniata College (23-3, 9-0 Landmark) at the Shirk Center on Saturday (Nov. 1). Since 2009, Oshkosh is 1-3 against the Eagles, all in neutral site matches, with a 3-2 win in San Antonio, Texas on October 31, 2009.