The UW-Oshkosh women’s volleyball team survived an action packed match against Carthage College to win its first NCAA Division III regional championship since the 1996 season on Saturday (Nov. 15) in Oshkosh.

UW-Oshkosh (40-2) won the see-saw battle, 25-23, 25-19, 16-25, 20-25, 15-10, and advances to play Juniata College (34-4) on Thursday (Nov. 20) in the quarterfinal round of the national championship in Bloomington, Ill. Carthage College (32-5) finishes its season in its fifth NCAA Division III postseason appearance.

The Titans, who handed the Lady Reds three of their losses this season, held leads of 12-8 and 20-16 before Carthage College stormed back in the first set. After a side out, Carthage College scored four straight points to go ahead 21-20. Trailing 22-21, UW-Oshkosh scored four of the last five points to pull out the victory.

Down 5-0 in the second set, UW-Oshkosh went on a 9-1 scoring run to take a 9-6 advantage. Ahead 12-8, the Titans held at least a four-point cushion to take a 2-0 lead in sets in the match.

Facing elimination, the Lady Reds responded in the third set by outhitting the Titans .276 to -.056 on a 13-6 advantage on kills. Carthage College relied on a big opening lead in set four to coast to the deciding fifth stanza.

UW-Oshkosh overwhelmed Carthage College in the fifth set by allowing only five kills to improve to 11-0 on the season in five-set matches. The Titans knocked down a .312 hitting percentage on eight kills to win its 19th consecutive match. Trailing 2-1, UW-Oshkosh went on a four-point scoring run to take a 5-2 advantage. Both teams traded points until the Titans took a four-point lead at 10-6. Ahead 11-8, UW-Oshkosh scored three straight points to earn its first match point opportunity at 14-8. The Titans gave up its only two-point run of the fifth set as the Lady Reds closed to within 14-10. The match ended on a miscue by the Lady Reds.

In a dreadful match statistically, Jacque Ray led the Titans with 13 kills and Katie Beining added 12 as UW-Oshkosh only hit .119. Christina Cahoon added 28 digs and Katelyn Vara had 44 assists, 11 digs and four blocks. Beining added 14 digs and four service aces and Andrea Smith had 13 digs.

Michelle Madeja led Carthage College with 10 kills and Jordan Burkholder added nine kills on a .500 hitting percentage, while pitching in nine blocks. Rachel Swoboda contributed eight blocks and seven kills and Drewann Pancratz had 24 assists. Sarah Carlino and Katie Lundgren scooped up 16 digs each.

UW-Oshkosh’s Beining led the seven-person all-tournament team by being named the most valuable player of the Oshkosh Regional. Joining Beining were UW-Oshkosh Cahoon and Vara, Carthage College’s Lundgren and Swoboda, Heidelberg College’s Emily Hurlburt and UW-Whitewater’s Melissa Zuleger.

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh women’s volleyball team advanced to the regional final for the first time since 1996 when it defeated Heidelberg College (Ohio) on Friday (Nov. 14) in the semifinal of the NCAA Division III Oshkosh Regional in Oshkosh.

The Titans (39-2) won their 19th straight match by taking the final three sets in a 19-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22 victory. UW-Oshkosh will take on Carthage College (32-4) in the final on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. in Kolf Sports Center. The Student Prince cap their season with a record of 31-8 in their second NCAA postseason appearance.

After Heidelberg College bolted out to a 9-2 lead and a first-set triumph, the Titans took hold of the momentum. UW-Oshkosh tallied advantages of 11-5 in the second set, 8-1 in the third and 17-9 in the fourth. The Student Prince cut their deficit to 24-22 late in the second set, but unable to overcome UW-Oshkosh’s consistent attack.

Kelsey Mauer led UW-Oshkosh with 12 kills on a .435 hitting percentage. Ashley Sullivan added 10 kill in only two sets played and Katie Beining chipped in nine kills, three service aces and 16 digs. Christina Cahoon added 22 digs and Katelyn Vara pitched in 22 assists, 11 digs and four blocks for the Titans. Danielle Swindell scooped up nine digs and Andrea Smith added eight digs and four service aces.

Audra Vucic led the Student Prince with 10 kills. Emily Hurlburt contributed nine kills, Brittany Donelan 17 digs and four service aces and Jackie Reinhart 13 digs. Amanda Atchison had six blocks and six kills.

Both teams had eight service aces and seven blocks, while the Titans held leads of 46-39 in kills, 44-36 in assists and 74-52 in digs.

Carthage College advanced to the third round for the second straight year as it prevailed over UW-Whitewater in the semifinal of the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Oshkosh Regional on Friday (Nov. 14) in Oshkosh.

The Lady Reds (32-4) won the first two sets on their way to a 25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 23-25, 15-8 victory. They advance to the regional final on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m., when they will play either Heidelberg College (31-7) or UW-Oshkosh (38-2). Carthage College marked six of the final seven points in the deciding set to cap the victory. UW-Whitewater (30-10), however, did not go without a fight. Facing elimination in set four, the Warhawks tallied 10-of-13 points earn the frame and remain alive.

It was the third time Carthage College defeated UW-Whitewater this season, with previous victories coming via 3-1 decisions on Sept. 5 and Oct. 31. The Lady Reds took their second consecutive match in five sets, upping their record in those bouts to 4-0 this year. UW-Whitewater, which grabbed second place in last season’s tournament, closed its year with the school’s 21st NCAA postseason appearance.

Statistics for the two teams were extremely close in all categories. Carthage College pulled out a 59-57 advantage in kills, as well as a .191-.135 lead in hitting percentage and a 58-56 margin in assists. Both squads recorded 24 blocks, while the Warhawks posted 108 digs to Carthage College’s total of 80.

Michelle Madeja paced the Lady Reds with 14 kills, followed by Lauren Dembkowski with 11. Carthage College received 27 assists from Drewann Pancratz and 24 from Kate Flanagan. Katie Lundgren topped the team with 34 digs as Cindy Cavanagh turned in seven blocks.

The Warhawks’ Melissa Zuleger recorded a team-best seven blocks to go along with 12 kills. Liz Benzschawel slammed down 14 kills, with Jillian Neave assisting 49 times. UW-Whitewater also received 34 digs from Alyssa Bauer and 10 kills from Caitlin Hogan.

The UW-Oshkosh women’s volleyball team held Lakeland College to 24 kills, including only four in the second set in a 25-19, 25-16, 25-19 victory in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Oshkosh Regional on Thursday (Nov. 13) in Oshkosh.

Win the win, UW-Oshkosh (38-2) advances to play Heidelberg College (Ohio) in the semifinals on Friday (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m. Heidelberg College (31-7) defeated Hope College (Mich.), 3-2, in an earlier quarterfinal match-up. Lakeland College (25-11) finishes its season in its fifth postseason appearance.

Although holding a slim .145-.128 advantage in hitting percentage, the Titans dominated in total kills (39-24), assists (35-24) and digs (47-35). The Muskies did hold a four to one advantage in total blocks but were hampered with nine service errors, while only recording two service aces.

Katie Beining led the Titans with nine kills and added eight digs. Kelsey Mauer and Jacque Ray added seven kills. Christina Cahoon had a match-high 14 digs and Katelyn Vara dished out 29 assists.

Brittanie Paulus and Kaylyn Kasper each had five kills for Lakeland College. Jessica Sparling ran the offense with 20 assists and Kristine Raeder scooped up 11 digs. Paulus and Tonia Strebelinski each had eight digs.

The Muskies kept things interesting in the first set after falling behind 11-6 by scoring the next four points to close to within 12-10. The Titans responded by going on a five point scoring skein to take an 18-12 advantage. From there UW-Oshkosh took control of the match, never letting Lakeland College take a lead in the contest.

Heidelberg College (Ohio) had four players record double-digit kills in a thrilling 25-22, 20-25, 27-29, 25-19, 15-7 victory over Hope College (Mich.) in a quarterfinal match of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Oshkosh Regional on Thursday (Nov. 13) in Oshkosh.

With the victory, Heidelberg College (31-7) advances to play the winner of the Lakeland College (25-10) and UW-Oshkosh (37-2) match on Friday (Nov. 14) at 7 p.m. Hope College (26-7) ends its season after its sixth NCAA Division III postseason appearance.

After splitting the first two sets, Hope College led 24-21 in set three before Heidelberg College went on a three point scoring run to knot the score at 24-24. After trailing 26-25, the Flying Dutch scoring four out of the next five points to take set three in extended points. After the score was tied 10-10 in set four, Heidelberg College outscored Hope College, 30-16 to end the match. The Bergs’ scoring run included leads of 10-3 and 12-5 in the deciding fifth stanza.

Emily Hurlburt led Heidelberg College with 14 kills, followed by Venessa Haase with 13, Jackie Reinhart with 12 and Audra Vucic with 10. Brittany Donelan scooped up 28 digs and added four service aces and Morgan Magers had 43 assists and 13 digs. Haase added 14 digs and Reihart tallied 11. Hurlburt had six blocks and Vuvic pitched-in with five. Kara VandeGuchte had a match-high 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage to lead the Flying Dutch. Nora Slenk added 15 kills and Teresa Borst had 11. Meghan Winer patrolled the back court with 28 digs and Kristen Johnson added 18 and Traci Baker 11. Andrea Helminiak contributed 50 assists and 17 digs.

Carthage College (Wis.) tallied seven of the last nine points in the deciding fifth set as it defeated St. Norbert College (Wis.) in a quarterfinal round match of the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Oshkosh Regional on Thursday (Nov. 13) in Oshkosh.

The Lady Reds (31-4) took the match in set scores of 26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 17-25, 15-6 victory. Carthage College advances to face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (30-9) in the semifinal round on Friday (Nov. 14) at 4:30 p.m.

St. Norbert College (30-4), making its fifth NCAA Division III postseason appearance, took both the second and fourth set to extend the contest. Leading 16-15 in set four, the Green Knights rallied to score nine of the next 11 points to force a fifth stanza.

Carthage College held a 65-50 advantage in kills, as well as winning assists, 62-46, digs, 86-69, and blocks, 24-12. The kill and assist totals were season highs for the Lady Reds.

Helped by Jordan Burkholder’s mark of .533, Carthage College posted a .212 hitting percentage. St. Norbert College amassed a hitting figure of .148, led by the .324 number of Sam Jungbluth.

Jungbluth and Katie Casebolt each tallied a match-high 14 kills for the Green Knights. Laura Ayello turned in 39 assists, while Kim Angst posted 20 digs and Casebolt 16. Ayello also had 12 digs as Jungbluth finished with five blocks.

The Lady Reds featured three players with double-digit kills and a pair with at least 23 assists in the match. Michelle Madeja led the squad with 13 kills, while Lauren Dembkowski added 12 and Rachel Swoboda 11. The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin’s Player of the Year Katie Lundgren led all players with 34 digs, while Drewann Pancratz topped the team with 28 assists. Kate Flanagan recorded 23 assists to go along with Swoboda’s match-high seven blocks.

Behind a balanced offensive attack, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Oshkosh Regional with a 25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 25-22 victory over Calvin College (Mich.) on Thursday (Nov. 13) in Oshkosh.

UW-Whitewater (30-9) will play at 4:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 14) against Carthage College (Wis.) (30-4) for a right to play in the finals on Saturday (Nov. 15) at 7 p.m. Calvin College (26-5) sees its season end after making its 18th NCAA Division III postseason appearance.

The Warhawks boasted three players with 10 or more kills as they held a 57-42 advantage in that department. Melissa Zuleger led UW-Whitewater with 15 kills on a .462 hitting percentage, while Liz Benzschawel and Keri Klotzbuecher each totaled 10. The Warhawks received 55 assists from Jillian Neave, along with 17 digs from Alyssa Bauer and 16 digs from Sofia Sanchez. Klotzbuecher added 11 digs to go along with five blocks from Zuleger.

Rebecca Kamp, the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year, led the Knights with 21 kills, accounting for half of the team's total. Rachel DeYoung and Sara Kramer added six kills apiece. Lauren DeGroot dished out 33 assists and added 11 digs, while Kelsey Sears scooped up 17 digs and Kelly Petersen 12. Kemp also had a team-leading four blocks.

After splitting the first two sets, UW-Whitewater found its groove in set three by holding leads of 18-10 and 23-16. The Warhawks also dominated set four as they posted a hitting percentage of .444 on 18 kills and limited the Knights to a mark of .000. UW-Whitewater’s cushion grew to 19-5 and 22-8 before settling for the nine-point victory.

UW-Whitewater held advantages of 66-58 in digs, 57-38 in assists, 7-3 in service aces and .260-.140 in hitting percentage. The Warhawks’ assist total was a season-best while they held Calvin College to its lowest hitting percentage of the year. There were only six service errors in the match, with the Knights committing just one miscue.