The UW Oshkosh women’s volleyball team heads into the 2025 season looking to continue its run of winning seasons.
The Titans won the WIAC regular season title and made the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season last year.
If the Titans want to continue that run this season, Coach Jon Ellmann knows that they will need younger players to step it up this season.
“We did indeed lose some amazing seniors that led in authentic and special ways,” Ellmann said. “Simply put, you can’t replace them. Nor would we want to.”
However, the Titans have a fair share of talent returning for the 2025 season, headlined by senior Izzy Coon and junior Sami Perlberg, who led the team in scoring last season. Meanwhile, Coon, who was second in assists last season, will now look to take over the reins offensively.
Despite who has left and who’s returning, Ellmann realizes that each player contributes in their own unique ways and he expects nothing different.
“Everyone on the team has some unique traits that are valuable to our success,” Ellmann said. “The excitement is really in the journey to cultivate leadership across the roster as we try to do every year.”
The Titans start the year ranked No. 6, according to the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association rankings. For the annual Marty Peterson Invitational (Sept. 5 and 6), which kicks off the team’s home slate, the Titans will host No. 11 Washington-St. Louis University (Missouri), No. 5 Emory College (Georgia), Marian University and No. 15 Claremont Mudd-Scripps (California). Almost all of these teams made the NCAA tournament last season. The next weekend (Sept. 12 and 13), UWO hosts No. 3 Hope College (Michigan), No. 7 La Verne (California) and No. 20 University of Chicago.
Ellmann realizes it’s a great honor to play great teams and that it also prepares them for a tough WIAC schedule.
“To see some of the best programs in the country over the first few weeks of the season will help us prepare for WIAC play and will give us great insights as to where we need to focus,” he said.
Last season, Oshkosh won the WIAC title by one game with a 6-1 conference record. UWO and those four teams behind them in UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Platteville all made the NCAA tournament the past season.
Knowing that almost anyone in the conference is good enough to walk away with the WIAC title, Ellmann said he accepts the fact that it’s a challenge that the team is up for.
“We respect each and every team in the WIAC,” Ellmann said.” We know that each year there are a multitude of teams that can come away with the regular and/or tournament title.” He also added that no matter who the team faces on any night, “The opponent can’t and won’t dictate our level of motivation and discipline.”
With the way the 2024 season ended for the Titans, Ellmann said he knows that he and the team are proud of the past year, but that 2025 is a new team and a refresh.
“I think those who are returning are proud of what we did in 2024, however this is a new team and the goal remains the same: win a national championship,” Ellmann said. “We have some very high character, talented and driven additions to the team and when you combine that with the experience and leadership of our returners, the outcome can be very special.”
Oshkosh opens up its 2025 campaign at the Salisbury University Margie Knight Classic at Salisbury, Maryland, Aug. 29 and 30. UWO’s first game will be on Aug. 29 against Thiel College (Pennsylvania) at 4:30 p.m.
