#1 Oshkosh sweeps Platteville

On Senior Night and Dig for the Cure Night, the four UW Oshkosh seniors – setter Katelyn Vara, outside Katie Beining, middle Jacque Ray and outside Megan Fischer – were in the starting lineup together for the first time since early September. With both teams outfitted in pink and hitting a pink ball in front of a sizeable midweek crowd of 372, breast cancer awareness and Oshkosh were the clear winners of the night.

After a short ceremony honoring each senior, each senior proceeded to lead the Titans in a sweep over visiting UW-Platteville. The four seniors combined for 37 of Oshkosh’s 55 points, 37 of its 40 assists, 29 of its 41 kills, 14 of its 42 digs and seven of its 11 blocks (one solo, 10 assisted).

It’s a tough midweek trip in the middle of a semester from Platteville (17-9, 5-3 WIAC) to Oshkosh (28-0, 8-0), and the Titans made sure the trip home will be even longer. Besides an Oshkosh defensive lull in Set 3 and a service run in Set 1 by the Pioneers’ Abby Carey, the Titans dominated, although Platteville outside Melissa Hillebrand, setter Ali Sikic and libero Abby Carey showed flashes of why they will probably be all-WIAC this season. But the Pioneers’ passing just wasn’t there tonight. Hillebrand led Platteville with nine kills and Sikic had 29 assists.

Earlier in the day Oshkosh was ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region, as expected. Platteville was ranked No. 4 in the regional rankings, the official NCAA rankings used for the national tournament selections.

Oshkosh heads to UW-Whitewater for a tournament this weekend, taking on Central, Whitewater and two others. Platteville goes to UW-La Crosse for a tourney, facing Cornell, Luther and two others.

-Ricky Nelson