The UW Oshkosh women’s volleyball team swept Greenville University (Illinois) at the Kolf Sports Center in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Tournament on Thursday (Nov. 16).
The Titans (35-1) defeated the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion Panthers (23-11) in set scores of 25-10, 25-17, 25-21.
Sami Perlberg turned in another double-digit kill performance in the match, hitting 10 kills on 25 attacks. Robyn Kirsch followed close behind with nine kills of her own. Riley Kindt registered four solo blocks and six block assists to go with six kills and an ace. UW-Oshkosh’s leading passers were Izzy Coon and Kalli Mau with 16 and 15 assists, respectively and Abby Fregien dug 13 attacks in the contest.
Oshkosh paced Greenville in kills (37-24), hitting percentage (.204 to -.038), assists (37-23), digs (46-34) and blocks (12-6).
The Titans controlled the first set, scoring the first point of the match on an unforced error. Two early spurts of three points increased their lead to six points. A later 9-1 run that was capped off by a block by Kindt and Perlberg and two solo blocks by Kindt gave UW Oshkosh a 20-8 lead. The Panthers reached 10 points on a kill before Oshkosh scored three-straight to take the set.
The second set began much slower. Oshkosh built up a lead of more than three points on a Kindt kill and two unforced errors to make the score 9-4. Greenville would not let the Titans start a run like the first set however, ending every Oshkosh rally before the fourth point. Oshkosh however, never Greenville scored more than two in a row. The Titans took set two on a service error.
The final set started out hot for the Titans with a kill each from Perlberg, Hannah Moe, Kindt and Kirsch. The Panthers rallied from the 9-3 deficit, scoring four-straight to make the score 10-8. The Panthers later went on a 3-0 run, however, the Titans responded with another three-point run, keeping them at arm’s length. Oshkosh was outscored 5-4 the rest of the way, but a 5-point lead gave UWO the cushion it needed to advance to the next round.
The Titans will return to action at the Kolf Sports Center on Nov. 17, taking on Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota) at 7 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Gusties (26-6) earned their spot in the tournament with a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament title and swept No. 12 Calvin University (Michigan) in the first round matchup Thursday.
