St. Thomas vs. Oshkosh Match Review


ST. THOMAS RALLIES TO ADVANCE TO THE SECOND ROUND

EAU CLAIRE - The University of St. Thomas (MN) rallied from a two games to one deficit to defeat UW-Oshkosh 3-2 today in the opening match of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Midwest Regional at the McPhee Physical Education Center.

The ninth-ranked Tommies, avenging a regular season loss to the Titans, won by scores of 31-29, 23-30, 26-30, 30-26, 15-12 to advance to face the region top-seeded team and defending national champion UW-Whitewater.

No. 19 UW-Oshkosh went up 16-8 in game one and had a game point at 29-28. However, the Tommies scored the final three points to take the first game 31-29. The Tommies had 16 kills in the game.

The Titans jumped out to an early lead in game two and this time hung on to that lead, winning by a score of 30-23 to even the match. Both teams struggled in game two as Oshkosh had a .043 attack percentage and St. Thomas had a .023.

The Titans continued their success into game three, as the biggest margin they trailed by was 7-5. After that, Oshkosh scored six straight points on their way to winning game three 30-26 and take a two games to one lead. The Titans had 19 kills in the game, their highest of the match.

The Titans looked to close out the match in game four, but the Tommies scored nine of the last 12 points to survive and win 30-26 to force a fifth and deciding game. St. Thomas had 17 kills in the game, their highest of the match.

After a close start to game five, St. Thomas pulled away midway through and would go on to win 15-12 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championships. The Tommies had their best attack percentage (.304) of the match.

Both teams finished with 67 kills, while St. Thomas had 35 blocks, compared to 19 for the Titans. Rachelle Dosch led the Tommies with 21 kills and Katie McCaffrey had 13 blocks to lead the team. The Titans were led by Leah Rosenbaum with 18 kills, followed by Katie Beining with 16 kills. Beining also led the team with 22 digs.

St. Thomas improves to a record of 29-6 this season. Oshkosh's season ends with a 32-6 record.

St. Thomas and UW-Whitewater square off tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the McPhee Physical Education Center.

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