UWO men clean house at Wisconsin Volleyball Conference championship
UWO earned its 35th victory of the season after defeating six opponents last weekend
April 12, 2018
The UW Oshkosh men’s club volleyball team captured six-straight wins at the Wisconsin Volleyball Conference State championship. The squad played against top-ranked teams on its way to winning the WVC championship April 6 and 7.
The Titans defeated UW-La Crosse 25-23 in both sets, UW-Whitewater 25-20, 25-18, Marquette University 25-20, 25-16, UW-Eau Claire 25-21, 25-17, and again both UW-Whitewater 25-11, 25-19 and Marquette University 25-14, 25-21, increasing their overall record to 35-10.
Junior left-side hitter Alex Basting said as a whole, the team can agree that it has one vision and that is to finish the season strong.
“We stay motivated by pushing each other to be better every day and not being satisfied unless we win every tournament we enter,” Basting said.
Oshkosh did not lose a match while participating in the Championship and now holds a league-leading 12 state titles, the team’s third title in the past four years. UWO won the WVC regular-season championship for the 10th consecutive season with a 9-2 record and had strong goals going into the state championship.
Head coach Will Brydon said he has seen powerful improvements from the team since the start of the season.
“We have embraced a growth mindset this season, and I am looking forward to the team playing motivated, high-level volleyball to ensure their game is at the top going into the national tournament,” Brydon said. “So far this season, the team has accomplished our initial goals as we work towards our major season goal: winning a [National Collegiate Volleyball Federation] national championship.”
The Titans are looking ahead to the NCVF championship on April 12-14 in St. Louis. Winning the championship is the end goal for the entire team, and some players, including senior defensive specialist Samuel Moua, have experienced winning this title before and look forward to taking the top spot again.
“I believe the team stays focused because we all have the same goal, and that’s winning a national championship,” Moua said, “We’ve won 10 straight WVC regular season championships because we dedicate ourselves to the program and to one another. We are tradition-driven, and we play with pride. A lot of people and teams have counted us out because of the players we lost last season, but they haven’t seen the best of this new Oshkosh team yet.”