EAU CLAIRE, Wis.- The
top-ranked UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team closed out the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Alumni Weekend Invitational with a split Saturday (Oct. 10) inside the Sonnentag Event Center. The Titans suffered a five-set defeat to (RV) Hope College (Mich.), 28-26, 24-26, 25-22, 24-26, 12-15, before bouncing back with a four-set victory over (RV) Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.), 23-25, 25-18, 25-18, 25-14. Oshkosh finished the weekend with a 2-1 record and improved to 19-2 overall on the season.
Hope Edges No. 1 Titans in Five-Set Battle
Oshkosh put down 66 kills on 204 attacks while hitting .186 in a tightly contested five-set match against Hope. The Flying Dutch finished with 68 kills on a .194 hitting percentage and held a 98-89 advantage in digs. The match featured 27 ties and 12 lead changes.
Samantha Perlberg (Chippewa Falls/Chippewa Falls) led the Titans offensively with 17 kills and 16 digs for a double-double, while
Grace Juergens (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Community) recorded 15 kills and a career-high 25 digs.
Maren Motz (Hartland/Arrowhead Union) turned in a career-best performance with 13 kills and just two errors on 29 attacks for a .379 hitting percentage.
Riley Borrowman (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) added seven kills without an attack error on 15 swings for a .467 hitting percentage while contributing five total blocks, including two solo blocks.
Brooklyn Tortorice (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove) finished with seven kills and four total blocks, while
Clare McEniry (North Aurora, Ill./Rosary) added four kills and a solo block.
Alex Hopp (Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton Community) directed the offense with a career-high 31 assists and matched her career-high with 13 digs for her second consecutive double-double.
Leah Carlson (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) contributed 22 assists and 13 digs, while
Callie Panasuk (Oak Creek/Oak Creek) collected 14 digs and six assists.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle featuring 11 ties and four lead changes. Oshkosh came out firing offensively, putting down 21 kills with just three errors on 47 swings for a .383 hitting percentage. Perlberg, Juergens and Motz helped lead the Titan attack as Hope countered with 18 kills on a .275 clip. Oshkosh eventually prevailed in the extended frame, 28-26, to take the early advantage.
Hope responded in the second, holding the Titans to 12 kills and a .091 hitting percentage. The Flying Dutch recorded 14 kills of their own, but committed 11 attack errors as the teams battled through five ties and two lead changes. Oshkosh remained within striking distance throughout the frame before Hope secured a 26-24 victory to even the match at one set apiece.
The Titans regained control in the third behind a strong defensive effort. Borrowman and Tortorice helped lead Oshkosh at the net, while Juergens, Perlberg and Panasuk contributed to a defense that limited Hope to nine kills and a .053 hitting percentage. Oshkosh put down 13 kills of its own and overcame eight attack errors to take the set, 25-22, moving within one of the victory.
Hope answered once again in the fourth, producing 17 kills while hitting .204. Oshkosh struggled to find its offensive rhythm, recording 10 kills on a .067 hitting percentage. Despite the Titans' defensive effort, the Flying Dutch held on for a 26-24 victory to force a decisive fifth set.
Both teams found success offensively in the final frame, but Hope proved more efficient when it mattered most. Oshkosh recorded 10 kills with just two errors on 20 attacks for a .400 hitting percentage, while the Flying Dutch put down 10 kills with only one error on 16 swings to hit .563. Hope eventually took the deciding set, 15-12, to snap the Titans' seven-match winning streak.
No. 1 Titans Bounce Back With Four-Set Victory Over Gustavus Adolphus
Oshkosh responded in the second match of the day with a strong offensive and defensive showing against Gustavus Adolphus. The Titans recorded 62 kills on 149 attacks for a .248 hitting percentage while holding the Gusties to 36 kills and a .083 clip. Oshkosh also held a 66-58 advantage in digs and recorded 12 total blocks.
Lauren Grier (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) led the Titans with 15 kills and just four errors on 22 swings for a .500 hitting percentage. Grier also dominated at the net with a match-high seven total blocks, including one solo block.
Perlberg matched Grier with 15 kills while hitting .314 and collecting 15 digs for her second double-double of the day. Juergens added 13 kills and 14 digs for another double-double, while Borrowman finished with six kills on a .333 hitting percentage and four total blocks.
Motz contributed seven kills and seven total blocks, including a solo block, while McEniry added six kills. Hopp dished out a team-high 26 assists and added eight digs, while
Ava Van Hammond (Kimberly/Kimberly) recorded 22 assists and nine digs. Panasuk finished with 11 digs and a service ace.
The Titans opened the match with their most productive offensive set of the night, putting down 19 kills with just four errors on 44 attacks for a .341 hitting percentage. Grier, Perlberg and Juergens helped pace the attack, but Gustavus Adolphus countered with 14 kills while hitting .314. The teams battled through three ties and a lead change before the Gusties edged Oshkosh, 25-23, to take the opening set.
Oshkosh responded in the second with a balanced offensive effort, recording 16 kills while hitting .235. The Titans' defense began to create separation, holding Gustavus Adolphus to just eight kills and a .185 hitting percentage. Grier and Motz helped lead the effort at the net as Oshkosh worked through seven ties and three lead changes before taking the frame, 25-18, to even the match.
The Titan defense took complete control in the third. Oshkosh forced Gustavus Adolphus into 10 attack errors while allowing just nine kills, holding the Gusties to a -.026 hitting percentage. Grier, Motz and Borrowman continued to provide a strong presence at the net, while Perlberg and Juergens anchored the defensive effort behind them. The Titans put down 13 kills of their own and secured another 25-18 victory to take a two-set-to-one advantage.
Oshkosh carried that momentum into the fourth, holding Gustavus Adolphus to just five kills and forcing nine attack errors as the Gusties finished the frame hitting -.125. The Titans added 14 kills while hitting .216, with Grier completing her efficient performance with 15 kills on a .500 clip. Oshkosh cruised to a 25-14 victory to secure the four-set win and close out the invitational with a 2-1 record.
The Titans will return to Kolf Sports Center on Wednesday (Oct. 14) to host UW-Stout Polytechnic in a WIAC matchup at 7 p.m. as part of Play for a Cause Night.
