The No. 2 Seeded UW Oshkosh women’s volleyball team swept Trinity University (Texas) in the National Semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday (Dec. 4) at the Shirk Center in Bloomington, Illinois. The Titans advanced to their first national championship game appearance since 1994 when UWO fell to Washington University in St. Louis.
Samantha Perlberg and Grace Juergens led the team in kills with 19 and 12, respectively, in the win. Callie Panasuk led the team with three aces and 24 digs. Izzy Coon had the team high in assists with 26 and Lauren Grier had the most blocks with four.
Set one was all UWO from the beginning. With the Titans holding a 6-4 lead, UWO went on an 8-0 run behind three aces from Panasuk to extend the lead to 14-4. The Tigers were able to close the Titans lead to 18-11, but immediately after UWO finished the set on a 7-1 run behind four kills from Perlberg to win the first set at 25-12.
Set two was anything but smooth for the Titans. With the score tied at 7-7, Trinity pulled off an 8-1 run to claim a 15-8 lead and forced Oshkosh head coach Jon Ellmann to use both of his timeouts. Immediately after, the Titans, behind five kills from Perlberg, rattled off another 7-1 run in the game to lower the deficit to 16-15 and got themselves back in the set. From there, UWO gradually was able to tie it up at 23-23. Despite the Tigers having attempted set points at 24-23 and 25-24, UWO was able to respond to keep the game both times and the second time, the Titans took the lead and the set at 27-25 behind kills from Perlberg and Grier.
Set three was tight to start with both teams tying the set at 7-7. A 6-0 run by the Titans however allowed the Titans to claim a 13-7 lead. From there, UWO played from the lead the rest of the set. Trinity gave the Titans a couple scares in the set with at one point after the Tigers cut the Titans lead down to 16-15. But with UWO holding a 19-17 lead, the Titans closed out the set with a 6-1 run behind four combined kills from Juergens and Borrowman to clinch the 25-18 set win and the fifth straight Titan sweep in the NCAA tournament.
The Titans will now shift their attention to the national championship game on Saturday, Dec. 6, where UWO will play the University of La Verne (California). The Titans faced La Verne back on Sep. 12 at the Kolf Sports Center as the Leopards reverse swept the Titans 3-2 to hand UWO its first loss of the year. UWO will be looking to get some revenge to claim its first national championship.
The national championship game will take place at 4 p.m. on Saturday from the Shirk Center at Bloomington Illinois. You can stream the game on ESPN+ or listen to it on 90.3 WRST-FM.
