The UW Oshkosh women’s volleyball team took down both Transylvania University (Kentucky) and Millikin University (Illinois) on the second day of the Colorado College Pikes Peak Challenge Aug. 31.
The Titans (3-1), ranked No. 5 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association, defeated No. 11 Transylvania (0-3) 3-1 in sets of 25-19, 16-25, 25-18 and 25-18 and beat Millikin (2-1) 3-1 by 25-21, 24-26, 25-18 and 25-18.
UWO hit .242 with 54 kills, 50 assists, 13 blocks and four aces against Transylvania. The Pioneers recorded 45 kills with a .161. hitting percentage, 37 assists, four blocks and four aces.
Four Titans eclipsed 10 kills against Transylvania, led by both Robyn Kirsch and Sami Perlberg with 12. Riley Kindt hit 11 kills and Hannah Moe registered 10. Setters Kalli Mau and Izzy Coon each notched 20 assists. Oshkosh’s top blockers were Kindt at 4.5 total blocks and Perlberg at three.
A 5-point run gave the Titans a 12-9 edge early in the first set with kills from Moe and Olivia Breunig. A Pioneer service error started another 5-0 Oshkosh spurt that included kills by Kindt and Perlberg. Kirsch ended the first set with a kill.
UWO scored five of the first six points in set two before Transylvania tied it up at 7-7 on a 3-point run. The Pioneers scored five straight points and extended their lead to 13-9 and further extended the edge on 3- and 4-point runs that sealed the second set in their favor.
After Transylvania took a 10-9 lead in the third set, Oshkosh went 7-1 to flip the edge and make the score 16-11, led by Moe with two kills. The Titans didn’t allow Transylvania to score more than two consecutive points the rest of the way, taking a 2-1 set lead.
The Titans made the score 4-2 and pushed their edge to five points early in set four as they hit six kills for their first nine points. The teams traded points until Kindt started a 5-0 streak with a kill that was followed by a bad Pioneer set, an Emmy Wizceb kill and two Kindt aces. Another 3-point run made the score 24-16 and Moe’s kill represented the point that won the set and match.
UWO and Millikin University faced off in the Titans’ final match of the tournament. Oshkosh led with a .217 hitting percentage, 62 kills, 51 assists, 12 blocks while the Big Blue’s four aces outpaced the Titans’ three.
Kindt was Oshkosh’s top attacker, hitting .419 with 17 kills, her third double-digit kill match of the early season. She also recorded two total blocks. Perlberg notched 11 kills while Moe hit 10. Mau had 22 assists to Coon’s 20 and both Moe and Carly Stamm blocked three total attacks.
Oshkosh’s early 5-point run was erased in the first set when Millikin came back and kept the score close for a while. The Titans later scored seven straight points to make the score 19-14. Moe had two kills and Malia Winchel had an ace in the run. The Big Blue closed the deficit to three points before an unforced error gave Oshkosh the set win.
In the second set, the Titans scored the first two points and extended their lead with two runs of four points for a 13-5 score. Millikin later went 9-0 and tied it up at 20-20 before taking the lead shortly later at 22-21. Oshkosh couldn’t score more than once in a row but pushed it to extra points before falling 26-24.
The Titans scored early again in the third set and never let the edge flip the rest of the way. They added spurts of six and three points to keep the Big Blue at bay, while a 4-point Millikin run didn’t bring it close enough to challenge the Titans’ lead.
Millikin broke a 12-12 tie midway through the fourth set with three points. The streak was ended by a Kindt kill and Oshkosh scored seven more times before Millikin did to reach the 20-point mark. Two more kills from Kindt and one from Breunig made the score 23-16 and after a set of Big Blue points, Kirsch hit a kill and the Big Blue hit an attack error which sealed the match.
The Titans will return to Wisconsin and play St. Norbert College and Lakeland University Sept. 4 in the UW-Stevens Point WIAC/MWC Quadrangular before hosting the Marty Petersen Invitational at Kolf Sports Center Sept. 6-7.
