The UW Oshkosh Volleyball team traveled to Holland, Michigan to compete in the Hope College September Tournament.
It was the biggest weekend so far this season for the No. 6 ranked Titans as they faced off against Otterbein University (Ohio) along with the defending national champion and No.1 ranked Juniata College (Pennsylvania) and No. 2 Hope College (Michigan).
UWO opened the tournament on Friday night against Otterbein. It was a great start to a tough weekend for the Titans as UWO swept the Cardinals 3-0 with set scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-10.
Riley Kindt led the way for the Titans with 10 kills and a .389 kill percentage on 18 attempts. Robyn Kirsch also had a good showing with eight kills. Kalli Mau and Izzy Coon led in assists with 13 each.
Set one in the match versus the Cardinals was as hard fought as the score indicated. UWO fell behind 2-6 early in the match and despite going on a couple runs to get it close, the Titans didn’t tie it up until a kill from Kirsch making the score 12-12.
After that it was back and forth, but with the Cardinals holding a 18-20 lead, UWO went on a 4-0 run to claim a 22-20 lead behind a kill from Kindt and a service ace from Sami Perlberg.
The biggest moment in set two was when UWO, with a 16-15 lead, went on a 5-2 run to extend their lead to 21-17. Otterbien was able to tie it back up at 22-22 but that four point lead proved to be the difference as two attack errors by the Cardinals won the Titans the set.
Set three was as smooth as the score indicated for the Titans. UWO jumped out to a 7-1 lead with kills from Kirsch and Lauren Grier along with five Cardinal attack errors. Kindt got the winning point with a kill.
On Saturday, the Titans had a doubleheader versus the top two teams in the country, Juniata College and Hope College. UWO opened the doubleheader with a match against No. 1 Juniata, which they lost 1-3 with set scores of 20-25, 19-25, 25-18 and 20-25. Kindt and Perlberg led the way with 13 and 10 kills respectively.
The first set looked like it was gonna be close, it was back-and-forth to start and UWO got out to a 10-8 lead. Then, Juniata tied it up at 10-10 and then went on a 5-1 run to jump out to a 15-11 lead. The Titans then were able to close the deficit down to 14-15, with two attack errors and a kill from Perlberg. The Eagles though were able to go on a 5-0 run, a lead that proved to be insurmountable for the Titans as Juniata got the first set win.
In the second set, Juniata jumped out to a 7-2 win. UWO was able to come back and make a single-point deficit at 6-7 thanks to kills from Perlberg and Moe along with a service ace from Coon. The Titans were able to counteract the Eagles for a couple points and tie it up a couple times. With the set tied at 12-12, it was a 4-0 run by Juniata that blew it open to 16-12. Despite a couple runs to close the lead, UWO was unable to fully extinguish the deficit and Juniata claimed set two with a score of 25-19.
Set three was the best set of the match for the Titans. Up 9-6, the Titans blew it open with a 6-0 run behind kills from Moe and Grier along with a service ace from Mau. After that, the set never got to within a five point difference, and it was an easy 25-18 set three win for the Titans.
Set four was a battle for both teams. The set started out tied 4-4, and then two 4-0 runs by each team respectively tied it up at 8-8. Then when both teams tied the game at 10-10, Juniata tried to blow the set open, but UWO wouldn’t let them. The Eagles got a lead as big as 17-12, however the Titans didn’t let them pull away as UWO got the deficit down to 19-20. Unfortunately after the Titans got the deficit down to one, two attack errors by the Titans let the Eagles pull away for good and Juniata won the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
In the finale of the doubleheader versus No. 2 Hope, the Titans rebounded for a very nice win. UWO swept The Flying Dutch 3-0 with set scores of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-23.
Kirsch and Perlberg were the leaders in kills for the Titans with 16 and 14, respectively. Mau led the team in assists with 27.
Set one, Hope jumped out to a lead, but it was short-lived for the Flying Dutch. Down 5-7, UWO went on a 4-0 lead to go up 9-7. It was a back-and-forth battle as the Flying Dutch kept tying the game but were never able to reclaim the lead from the Titans. Every time UWO would jump out to a two point lead, it would get tied up. However with the set tied at 17-17, UWO ended the set with an 8-0 lead to win the set behind two kills from Kirsch and Moe respectively.
In the second set, the Flying Dutch jumped out to a 1-6 lead. Thankfully even though it was a bigger lead then what UWO was dealt with in the first set. The Titans did not let the set get away from them. Started by a kill from Perlberg, UWO rallied to tie the set at 8-8 thanks to a 7-2 run by the Titans. After it was a back and forth battle, the Flying Dutch were able to build a 18-21 lead. It looked like Hope was going to win the set and tie the match, but UWO was able to tie the game at 21-21. With the game tied, the Titans were then able to close the game out with a 4-1 run to end the set.
In set three, even with the close score, it was all Titans. UWO never relinquished the lead in the third set. The Titans were able to jump out to a 6-0 lead behind kills from Kirsch, Perlberg, Moe and Grier along with a service ace from Malia Winchel. Every time the Dutch would have a run, UWO would be able to do enough to counteract it. In fact, Hope got the lead down to 20-19, but again was never able to claim the lead. Up 24-23, UWO closed out the set-three win and the match with a kill from Kirsch.
With the great showing in the Hope College Tournament, the Titans will return home on Wednesday, Sept. 18. It will be the second-ever Community Night at Kolf Sports Center as UWO will host the UW-Whitewater Warhawks. You can check the results of the match on the UWO athletics website.
