Over the weekend, the UW Oshkosh women’s volleyball team accomplished two big feats. On Nov. 3, the Titans clinched the outright regular season Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a win over UW-La Crosse.
Then, on Nov. 4, UWO clinched their first undefeated regular season in program history at 33-0, with wins against Edgewood College and Wheaton College (Illinois) in the Edgewood Triangular in Madison.
During the matches over the weekend against Edgewood and Wheaton, the Titans swept both teams by considerable margins in all sets.
Against Edgewood, the Titans earned 47 kills off of 114 attacks, with freshman Sami Perlberg leading Oshkosh with 14 kills.
Wheaton fared no better against the Titans, with the kill leader switching hands to Riley Kindt. During the game, Kindt scored 15 kills with a percentage of .583.
However, as the WIAC tournament kicks off the postseason, coach Jon Ellmann said the team recognized the feat they accomplished this season, but it isn’t all they are settling for.
“We talked about it in the locker room after our last match and upgraded our post-meal dining location to Cane’s in Madison,” he said. “Other than that, it’s been business as usual.”
As the WIAC regular season champions, the Titans will be the No. 1 seed for the tournament and their first game will be Thursday for the semifinal round.
The two teams that could be matched up against the Titans in the semifinal round are UW-Stevens Point and UW-Eau Claire. In the regular season, the Titans played the Pointers on Sept. 26 and the Blugolds on Oct. 11 at Kolf Sports Center. UWO beat both UWSP and UWEC 3-1. However, whichever opponent UWO plays will not be easy for the Titans, Ellmann said.
Ellmann said that he realizes that every game from now on will be a challenge for the team and he is making sure to have the team ready.
“We want to be as prepared as possible for either opponent. Regardless of the opponent, we’ll be working through a full opponent scout,” he said. “We have a huge amount of respect for any and all opponents we could face from this point on.”
Although the Titans hold the record for the longest win streak in the program, Ellmann is staying focused on future matches. He knows that the team is proud of this accomplishment while knowing that there is much more work to be done.
“It is simply an honor to be able to stand on the shoulders of the greats that came before us. A lot of players have contributed to the success we’ve been having,” he said. “It was never our goal to win consecutive matches, so it has been a fine side effect of the hard work our team has put in. It doesn’t guarantee anything moving forward.”
Ellmann said he wants UWO to know that he expects the team to continue to play at their best with the lights at their brightest.
“I would place bets on playing up to the standards that we’ve set for ourselves and to do so with no ego,” he said. “I would also place bets on our team’s willingness to play for each other in moments of adversity.”
The Titans will play their first game in the WIAC tournament on Nov. 9. If the Titans win, they will play in the WIAC championships on Nov. 11.
