The UW Oshkosh women’s volleyball team hosted the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Nov. 7 and took home a fourth-place finish after finishing as co-champions in the regular season. The 18th-ranked Titans played UW-La Crosse in the third place game on Nov. 7. Despite bringing the game to four sets, the Titans ended up falling, 22-25, 20-25, 25-16 and 24-26. Freshman Brianna Witter registered nine kills, while freshman Tina Elstner and senior Katelyn Malcheski both had seven kills. In the semifinals on Nov. 6, the Titans faced off with UW-Stevens Point. Even though the Titans forced a fifth set, the Pointers came out ahead and moved on. The Titans went down early by losing the first set, 18-25. They bounced back in the second, winning 25-17. The Pointers won the third set 26-28 and the Titans won the fourth 25-18 to force a fifth set. In the final set, the Titans held an 11-9 lead, but UWO hitting errors led to the Pointers winning the set 13-15. Senior Mandy Trautma secured a personal-best performance in the loss, with a program record of 47 digs in one match. This total also moved her into second all-time in the conference with 2,622 career digs. Junior Nerissa Vogt contributed 18 kills, seven blocks and nine digs. Malcheski recorded three service aces along with 15 kills, and junior Lexi Thiel had a match-high 54 assists, six blocks and 14 digs in her 20th career double-double. Head coach Brian Schaefer said that even with these results, there are still positives to take away. “Winning a conference title in the WIAC is something to hang your hat on,” Schaefer said. “It is an incredible conference, especially this year from top to bottom. We played a tough schedule and were ranked in the top 25 in the nation all year. We had a great season.” Trautmann said the team’s future is bright. “Since [the] majority of our team is young, it will help them to see how important each game is,” Trautmann said. “Competing at a high level will only help them to get better as years go on.” Thiel said the tournament was a chance to help send the team’s seniors off the right way. “The NCAA tournament was not only something we wanted to be able to conclude our conference winning season with, but something we wanted to be able to send our seniors to as well,” Thiel said. “It is a unique experience that we were well deserving of this year.” Thiel said the team will use not receiving a bid to the tournament as motivation for next season. “We are still in the mindset of this season,” Thiel said. “That being said, making the NCAA tournament is always a team goal and we will work harder than ever to get there next year.” Even though the Titans did not receive a bid to the NCAA tournament, three team members were acknowledged for their individual season performances. Malcheski was named the Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Trautmann received the Defensive Player of the Year award. Joining Malcheski and Trautmann on the All-WIAC First Team was Vogt. With three players on the 12-man roster, the Titans had the most representation on the all-conference team. UWO end its season with a 26-9 overall record and 6-1 conference record.