The No. 3 UW Oshkosh volleyball team went 2-1 in a three-game stretch against nationally ranked top 15 teams last week. The Titans beat No. 11 UW-Whitewater 3-2, and over the weekend traveled to Illinois Wesleyan University for two games against No. 6 IWU and No. 5 Juniata College (Pennsylvania), falling to IWU 3-0 and responding the next day with a 3-0 sweep over Juniata.
Being in the middle of a stretch where UWO will play five top 15-ranked teams in the country, head coach Jon Ellmann knows that this is a great test for tournament time.
“We couldn’t ask for better postseason prep,” Ellmann said. “As we continue to work extremely hard and fine-tune, it has helped us to learn that what we do on our side of the net is still the most important factor.
UWO began the week with a road game at UW-Whitewater on Wednesday night (Oct. 29). The Titans were led in the win behind a career-best 32 kill day from Sami Perlberg. Despite falling in set one and falling short in a 31-33 marathon in set three, UWO was able to win sets two and four 25-14 and 25-17 to get the match to set five. In the fifth set, the Titans were able to come out with a 15-12 win after UWO, down 10-11, went on a 4-0 run behind two kills from Riley Borrowman to pull away and win the set and its third straight regular season match over the Warhawks.
Highlighted in the win was the effort from Perlberg, as stated earlier, her 32 kills and 34 points were a career high. Ellmann credits her work ethic for her ability to be dynamic on both offense and defense.
“(Perlberg) is one of the most dynamic attackers in the country, but what people don’t often celebrate is how good she is defensively and in serve receive,” Ellmann said. “She has worked so hard technically, physically, and emotionally to become the player that she is. The best part is that she still hasn’t reached her ceiling.”
Oshkosh traveled to Illinois Wesleyan over the weekend of Oct. 31-Nov. 2. UWO opened its time in IWU with a match against the IWU Titans. IWU beat UWO 3-0 to hand Oshkosh its first loss since Sept. 20 against University of Northwestern (Minnesota). In the game, IWU won sets one and three handily with scores of 25-11 and 25-18, respectively. Set two was close, but UWO, up 13-6, allowed IWU to go on a 5-0 run to lower the gap to 13-11. IWU getting back in the set allowed themselves to come back and beat UWO 27-25. Even though Ellmann doesn’t believe in losses being a good thing, he believes that in the loss against IWU that the team learned something.
“This group has continued to learn and evolve regardless of outcome,” Ellmann said. “That’s what true competitors do, they never settle. Did we learn a lesson however, we surely did, and we’re grateful for it.”
The Titans responded immediately the next day (Nov. 1) with a 3-0 sweep against Juniata College, the team that has won three-straight NCAA Championships. The Eagles made UWO work, however, as UWO won set one 26-24, set two 25-22 and set three 25-19. Grace Jurgens and Perlberg led the way for the Titans in the kill department with 12 and 10 kills, respectively. The performance from Borrowman also was key as she recorded five kills, an assist, a dig and an ace along with six blocks. With the win, UWO handed Juniata its first 3-0 loss since 2019.
The Titans’ ability to respond fast against the Eagles after the IWU game was something that Ellmann was happy to see. He credits the discussion that took place in the locker room after the IWU match with what the team did vs Juniata.
“We had a little longer than normal conversation in the locker room after the IW match that resulted in some great takeaways,” Ellmann said. “It’s one thing to be aware and say what we want to do. It’s another to come out and do it.”
Heading into the last regular season game, which is also the last home game of the season for UWO, Oshkosh is in a similar spot as the last two years, where a win gets the Titans a WIAC regular season championship. Unlike last year’s 3-0 sweep over UW-River Falls, the Titans will be hosting No. 5 UW-Eau Claire, which is tied with UWO at the top of the WIAC. So the winner will be the 2025 WIAC champions. Even with it being postseason time following the game, Ellmann and the team’s focus is on the game against UWEC and its pursuit of claiming a third consecutive WIAC title.
“You need to acknowledge that the game is for a regular-season championship,” Ellmann said. “We all know that. Being in that position is what we want. There will be a heightened sense of excitement, but we will prepare the way we always do.”
The game against UW-Eau Claire will take place at Kolf Sports Center at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 2. You can watch the game on the WIACNetwork.com or listen on 90.3 WRST-FM.
