The UW Oshkosh women’s volleyball team made its third straight NCAA Elite Eight appearance by winning the Oshkosh Regional at Kolf Sports Center over the weekend of Nov. 20-22 for the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The No. 3-ranked Titans did it by sweeping its three opponents in Greenville University (Illinois), No. 25 Gustavus Adolphus College (Minnesota) and No. 21 Washington University in St. Louis (Missouri).
“We have goals and checked boxes that we strive to reach every year,” junior Samantha Perlberg said about reaching a third straight Elite Eight. “(Three Elite Eight appearances) in a row feels awesome, but we always want to go further.”
In their opening round match against Greenville, similar to when the Titans opened the 2023 tournament over the Panthers, UWO swept Greenville 3-0 in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 20. Despite having a lead as large as 12-7 in the first set, the Titans had to survive a fight from the Panthers, winning set one 25-23 after Grace Juergens punctuated the set with a kill. After the first set, things were calmer for the Titans. A 10-3 start to set two behind two aces from Riley Borrowman allowed the Titans to cruise to a 25-17 set two win. Set three was close until a 7-3 run by UWO turned a 12-12 tie into a 19-15 UWO lead. From there, the Titans were able to get the set three win 25-18 and advance to the second round with a date versus the Gustavus Adolphus Gusties. Perlberg led the way in the win over the Panthers with 12 kills and 13 aces. Borrowman recorded four aces on the night. Izzy Coon led with 22 kills and Callie Panasuk led the team in digs with 16.
In the game versus the Gusties, UWO once again completed another sweep. Similar to the game against Greenville, the first set was the closest set of the night. Despite never fully relinquishing the lead, UWO never had a lead larger than four points. That was until a 3-0 run behind two kills from Juergens ended the set with a 25-20 win.
A 9-3 lead in set two, behind five Gustie attack errors and three kills from Perlberg, allowed the Titans to cruise to the set two win 25-17 as UWO never had a lead lower than four. The third and final set of the night was close until a 7-2 lead by the Titans turned a 10-10 tie into a 17-12 UWO lead.
UWO used that lead to get another 25-17 set win to sweep the Gusties. Perlberg once again led with a high of 12 kills and one ace. Coon and Jaclyn Dutkiewicz each had the team high in assists with 15 respective kills, and Panasuk once again had the lead with 21 digs. A big part of this game, however, was the front duo of Lauren Grier and Maren Motz. Grier recorded seven blocks with four kills, and Motz recorded five blocks with four kills. UWO also held down the top defense and top scoring offense in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in Gustavus.
“Our game plan is to just do us and do what we need to do,” Juergens said when talking about the game plan against the Gusties.
The last step that the Titans had between themselves and their third straight Elite Eight appearance was the Wash U Bears in the Sweet 16. Unlike the first match on Sept. 5, where the Titans escaped the Bears 3-1 with a pair of 26-24 set wins, UWO swept Wash U in the rematch between the two teams with set scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-20. Set three, which was the closest set of the day, went down to the wire as UWO held only a 19-18 lead late in the set. The Titans were able to put away the Bears and win the 2025 NCAA D-III Oshkosh Regional with a 6-2 run behind three kills from Juergens.
A 15-kill performance from Juergens got her the team high on the night. Borrowman led with three aces, and Grier and Hannah Moe each tied for the team lead in blocks with four, respectively. Coon led the team on the night with 20 assists and Panasuk once again led with 18 digs.
Head coach Jon Ellmann said he credits the team’s ability to stick together for how they were able to improve and get better throughout the regional.
“We are this diverse group of 25 women and our coaching staff, there are so many mini microstories that help us find success,” Ellmann said. “Ultimately, everyone getting into the best phase to be as productive and positive to compete at the highest level possible is the goal.”
The Sweet 16 win was another check to a season where UWO swept both the WIAC regular season and tournament championships.
Ellmann said he realizes that this time in the Elite Eight, there is more to be accomplished this time.
“(In 2023) when we ended the season with a regional trophy and a conference regular season championship trophy, we realized as a staff the next year that what we did is hard to do,” Ellmann said. “To have the same two trophies sitting in our locker room, there is an awareness that we did this special thing twice in a row, but there is a severe hunger to do more.”
UWO will play No. 19 Calvin University (Michigan) in the Elite Eight round. The Knights are not only the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament Champions, but Calvin is also the winner of the Bloomington, Illinois, Regional, which is where the Elite Eight and National Championship rounds will be played. The Knights beat UW-Whitewater and host of the regional in Illinois Wesleyan University to win their regional.
The Titans’ Elite Eight match against Calvin took place Wednesday afternoon. The score of the contest can be found at uwoshkoshtitans.com/.
UWO’s potential Final Four matchup would be at 5 p.m. Thursday night, with the national title game on Saturday.
