Juniata D stellar in sweep of Oshkosh

Kills are hard to come by in many UW Oshkosh matches, but this time it was Juniata’s masterful defense that was the star of the show in a 3-0 win in tonight’s second semifinal match. It’s the first time Oshkosh was swept since Juniata accomplished the feat in last year’s quarterfinals.

One of No. 2 Oshkosh’s strengths is its digging, often frustrating teams by keeping the floor clean. No. 1 Juniata showed it can dig with the best, beating the Titans at their own game. The Eagles appeared to make any Titan besides Jacque Ray beat them. No other Titan did go off thanks to an amazing Eagle defense led by All-American libero Megan Sollenberger. Oshkosh hit a paltry .083.

The Juniata net defense was also better than advertised. Everyone knows the Eagles can outhit most teams with an array of hitters and setter Steph Strauss directing the attack. But, like last year’s match between these two, for whatever reason the Juniata net defense looked better than the season stats would indicate. Not a ton of blocks for the Eagles, but plenty of touches for the back row to clean up.

After Oshkosh couldn’t close out Juniata in Set 1, the Eagles gained momentum and control of the match. Juniata also came from behind in Set 3.

No. 1 Juniata will make its eighth finals appearance when it faces No. 4 Washington, making its 14th final, tomorrow at 6 CST. Wash U has a D-III record nine national titles. Juniata heads into tomorrow with two championships.

-Ricky Nelson