UW-Oshkosh Invitational - Day 1
UW-Oshkosh Invitational - Day 1
By Kevin Kosterman
For UW-Oshkosh head coach Brian Schaefer, the bad news came just an hour before the start of day one of a wild UW-Oshkosh Invitational Friday, which included four of the top 10 teams in the country. Senior Leah Rosenbaum, two-time All-American middle blocker and team leader, would be unavailable due to a case of mononucleosis.
“It’s going to be tough, but if we [win the tournament without Rosenbaum] I think it would turn a lot of heads,” Schaefer said.
And with the sounds of the day’s marquee match between No. 1 Juniata College (Pa.) and No. 3 UW-Whitewater echoing across Kolf Sports Center, the No. 5 Titans — without the reigning AVCA National Player of the Week — rode their young guns into the talent-laden tournament field.
Oshkosh stumbled a bit out of the gate against Lakeland College (15-9), managing a 34-32 win in a game one that saw six lead changes and 13 ties. The Titans trailed in each game before eventually pulling out the three-game sweep over Lakeland (34-32, 30-25, 30-25). In Rosenbaum’s absence, the team’s underclassmen were forced to step up their offense, and they responded.
Freshman left-side hitter Andrea Smith led the team with 13 kills and added 15 defensive digs, and sophomore Leah Stumpf topped paced the Titans with 27 sets. Junior libero Samantha Schmidt contributed an impressive 24 defensive digs.
Sophomore left-side hitter Megan Fischer said the younger players did an impressive job adjusting to the
“I think we all know that we’re good enough to pick it up,” she said. “Obviously we really missed her, but we just all need to be confident and know that it’s one player and just means that we have to step it up.”
The youth movement continued in the Titan’s second match of the evening against UW-Stevens Point (15-9). Oshkosh looked sloppy at times but trailed only twice in a three-game sweep over the Pointers (30-27, 30-24, 30-26).
Smith led the team for the second–straight match with 12 kills as sophomore middle blocker Jacque Ray added 10 of her own. Stumpf again looked sharp with 33 sets and Smith amassed 21 defensive digs.
Though the team certainly did not look as dominant as it has at times this season, Fischer said there was never a sense of panic and the players’ confidence level, which has been high all season, played a huge part in the day’s success.
“I think it’s important to play confident otherwise we are not going to pull out those close matches,” she said. “…We played kind of slow all night tonight, so I think we definitely have to pick it up tomorrow.”
With their two victories, the Titans locked up Pool A and are assured of a spot in Saturday’s championship match, but their opponent has yet to be determined due to a flurry of upsets and wild finishes in Pool B.
After Juniata defeated Whitewater in its opening match (28-30, 32-30, 34-32, 30-25), the nation’s top team stumbled against No. 19 UW-La Crosse (19-5), losing in a five-set nail-biter (27-30, 30-27, 30-22, 22-30, 15-11). Whitewater lost again in its second match, this time to No.9 Carthage College (22-2), in a three-game sweep (30-24, 30-22, 32-30).
This sets up a showdown between powerhouses Juniata and Carthage for the right to face Oshkosh in the championship.
With the big names and big potential for a reputation-building opportunity on its home court, the pressure on Oshkosh to perform at an elevated level is great. But Oshkosh assistant coach Ashley Fischer attributed the team’s sluggish start to Rosenbaum’s late scratch from the lineup and not to the anticipation of the potential blockbuster match up.
“I don’t think us starting off slow had anything to do with it,” she said. “I think it was a quick thing knowing that Leah wasn’t going to be there, and it’s an adjustment we’re going to have to deal with and we’re going to have to work with, especially if she is going to be out for two weeks, if not more.”
Although he was impressed with how his younger players handled the sudden spotlight, Schaefer said the expectations would only go up as the tournament rolls on.
“We all played fine and we won, but we didn’t have anybody that had the 20-kill game,” Schaefer said. “…But the [championship match], we’re going to have to have somebody step up.”
Schaefer gave no set timeline for Rosenbaum’s return to action.
“It could be two weeks, it could be a season-ending,” he said. “…For her, it will probably be two weeks, because she’s a fighter.”