The UWO volleyball team continued its winning streak last weekend.
The No. 5 ranked UW Oshkosh played against No. 3 UW-Whitewater in the second annual UWO Community Night at the Kolf Sports Center last week, when they also faced off against No. 13 University of Northwestern (Minn.) and St. Catherine University (Minn.) in the UNW Faith Radio triangular at St. Paul, Minnesota.
UWO’s match against the Warhawks was not only about Community Night, it also was revenge for last year’s Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship game, where UWW swept the Titans in three sets. Coach Jon Ellman said that the returning players from the 2023 squad would have to stay focused.
“Those that were returners surely remember that match and we need to acknowledge that, but it plays no role in our approach,” Ellmann said. “We were excited for the opportunity to play a really talented team on our home court in the electric environment that our community night provided.”
In another thriller on Community Night, UWO beat the Warhawks in a five set battle with set scores of 25-18, 13-25, 22-25, 25-23 and 15-10. Sami Perlberg led the way for the Titans in the win with 20 kills and a .108 kill percentage on 65 total attempts. Robyn Kirsch also had herself a great game with 11 kills. Kalli Mau and Izzy Coon led the team in assists with 27 and 23, respectively.
Set one looked like it could be a Titans blowout. Behind five kills from Perlberg, the Titans jumped out to a 12-5 lead. After that it was never close, and UWO closed out the first set with a kill from Riley Kindt.
Unfortunately in set two, the Warhawks flipped the script. Despite it starting 2-2, the Warhawks blew the set open early with a 6-0 run to make it 8-2. It was a sloppy set two as eight set errors by the Titans helped the Warhawks cruise to an easy set two win.
Unlike the first two sets, set three was a back-and-forth battle. UWW started the set with a 4-1 lead but UWO responded with a 5-1 run to take the lead at 6-4 behind two aces from Abby Fregien. After UWO took the lead, both teams would respond to each other with neither team nursing a lead greater than two points for most of the set. With UWO clinging to a 22-21 lead, the Warhawks went on a 4-0 run to close out a set three win.
Set four began with the Titans in do or die mode and looked like it was going to be a smooth ending for the Titans. Up 13-12, UWO went on a 4-0 run behind two service aces from Perlberg to go up 17-12. However, the Warhawks were able to come back and tie the game at 23-23. The Titans were able to stave off the Warhawk rally behind a kill from Olivia Bruenig and a UWW attack error to win the fourth set.
After tying the match at 2-2 in the fifth set, UWO took the lead at 3-2 with a UWW attack error and never looked back. Despite a couple runs, UWO never relinquished the lead. The Titans ended the game on a 4-0 run and clinched the match win with a kill from Perlberg.
Community Night is UWO’s attempt to break the NCAA division III volleyball attendance record.
“It was a special night at Kolf Sports Center,” Ellman said. “Our team is grateful for the support, and we hope that the campus and community members enjoyed the match.”
Over the weekend, the Titans traveled to the University of Northwestern for the UNW Faith Radio Triangular. UWO opened up their doubleheader on Saturday against the host school and No. 13 nationally ranked UNW. Last year, the Eagles took the Titans to five sets ultimately resulting in UWO winning 3-2. This year it was a better match for the Titans. Even though the first two set scores were close in 25-20 and 27-25 wins for the Titans, UWO was able to sweep the Eagles in set three with a 25-12 win. The Titans second match of the day against St. Catherine University went even better. UWO swept the Wildcats with set scores of 25-13, 25-17 and 25-18.
UWO will travel to UW-Platteville on Wednesday Sept. 25 to face their second WIAC conference opponent. First serve will be at 7 p.m., you can catch the results of the match at the UWO athletics website.
