ST. PAUL, Minn.- The top-ranked UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team kept its perfect start intact Friday evening, opening the St. Catherine University Quadrangular with its third consecutive sweep. The Titans took down host St. Catherine University, 25-17, 28-26, 25-23, inside the Butler Center to improve to 10-0 on the season.
Oshkosh finished the night with 43 kills while hitting .256 and held the Wildcats to 35 kills and a .098 attack percentage. The Titans committed just 12 attack errors on 121 swings compared to 23 errors for St. Catherine. Oshkosh also finished with six total blocks and 58 digs.
Samantha Perlberg (Chippewa Falls/Chippewa Falls) led the Titans with 10 kills and added nine digs, while
Lauren Grier (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) and
Maren Motz (Hartland/Arrowhead Union) each put down eight kills. Grier was nearly perfect offensively, recording her eight kills without an error on 10 attacks for a .800 hitting percentage. Motz committed just one error on 13 swings to hit .538.
Riley Borrowman (Oswego, Ill./Oswego) added six kills without an error on 13 attacks for a .462 hitting percentage while contributing two service aces and two total blocks.
Grace Juergens (Lockport, Ill./Lockport Community) finished with seven kills, 10 digs and a solo block.
Callie Panasuk (Oak Creek/Oak Creek) anchored the defense with a team-high 14 digs, while
Leah Carlson (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) added 16 assists and 10 digs.
Alex Hopp (Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond-Burton Community) led the Titans with 19 assists and chipped in six digs.
Oshkosh was sharp from the opening serve, producing its most efficient set of the night in the first. Grier, Motz and Borrowman helped lead a balanced Titan attack that totaled 13 kills with just one error on 30 swings for a .400 hitting percentage. On the other side of the net, the Titans forced St. Catherine into eight attack errors and a .061 hitting percentage, taking the opening set, 25-17.
The Wildcats pushed Oshkosh throughout a back-and-forth second set that featured 10 ties and three lead changes. The Titans responded with their highest kill total of the match, putting down 19 kills on 46 attacks while hitting .326. Perlberg led the attack with her match-high 10 kills overall, while Grier and Motz continued their efficient nights. Oshkosh eventually survived the extended frame, 28-26, to take a two-set advantage.
St. Catherine challenged the Titans again in the third, with the set featuring four ties and three lead changes. Oshkosh's offense cooled to a .089 hitting percentage, but its defense stepped up when needed. The Wildcats committed 11 attack errors on 48 swings and finished the frame with a -.021 hitting percentage. Grier's two solo blocks helped headline an Oshkosh front line that finished with four solo blocks on the night, while Panasuk, Juergens and Carlson helped lead the defensive effort behind it. The Titans held on for the 25-23 win to secure their third straight sweep and move to 10-0.
The Titans will be back in action Saturday (Sept. 19) for day two of the St. Catherine University Quadrangular. Oshkosh will face (RV) University of Northwestern (Minn.) at 11 a.m. CT before taking on No. 7 Juniata College (Pa.) at 3 p.m.
