Oshkosh Takes Second in Vegas (3-24-11)
The UW-Oshkosh men's volleyball team swept all three of its opponents in pool play and then won three straight contests before losing a heartbreaking three-set affair in the championship match of the Las Vegas Open on Friday and Saturday (March 18-19) in Nevada.
In the four times UW-Oshkosh (34-5) has attended the tournament, the Titans have won the event twice, took second once and claimed one fourth-place result (UW-Oshkosh lost to Stanford University in 2009 in the semifinals before the Cardinals were disqualified for using ineligible players).
UW-Oshkosh, ranked third in the latest NCVF Division I poll, defeated the University of Pittsburgh 25-21, 25-18, United States Air Force Academy 27-25, 25-21 and the University of Oregon 25-17, 25-21 to hold the number one seed into day two of the tournament.
Against the Panthers, Tyler Boddy (Sr. - New Ulm, Minn.) led the team with eight kills. Bill Meidenbauer (Jr. - Waukesha) followed with eight kills and Zach Johnson (So. - Mequon) had six kills and three blocks. Nick Mueller (So. - Kenosha) added three service aces, Brian Fox (Sr. - Fond du Lac) scooped up six digs and Andy Schinner (Sr. - Mequon) led the offense with 18 assists.
UW-Oshkosh avoided the upset bid of the Falcons by relying on the outstanding hitting of Dan Ruys (Sr. - Kimberly) who registered nine kills on 12 attempts. Boddy added six kills and four blocks, Matt Maciejewski (Jr. - Greenfield) five kills, Schinner 25 assists and Ruys three blocks.
The Titans completed dominated the University of Oregon by hitting a combined .478 as a team on 28 kills and piling up eight service aces. Meidenbauer exploited the Ducks with a tournament high six service aces, including four straight in the second set.
Boddy led the team with eight kills, four digs and three blocks, Mueller added seven kills, Ruys five kills and three blocks and Vince Odorizzi (Sr. - Pleasant Prairie) two blocks and a perfect four for four on kill attempts. Bob Hall (So. - Appleton) dished out 25 assists in the winning effort.
Reaching the gold bracket for the fourth straight time in the tournament, UW-Oshkosh survived a close three-set contest against the host University of Nevada-Las Vegas, 20-25, 25-23, 15-10 to open Saturday's action.
After starting out slow, the Titans' offense came around to shut the door in the third set with a .636 hitting percentage with seven kills on 11 error-less attempts. UW-Oshkosh also relied on its blocking, putting up 8.5 blocks as a team, including six by Ruys.
Boddy and Johnson each put down eight kills against the Rebels. Meidenbauer and Boddy each had three blocks and Johnson collected three service aces and two blocks. Hall and Schinner split the setting duties, amassing 14 and 13 assists, respectively.
In a rematch of the 2010 Las Vegas Open championship, UW-Oshkosh once again prevailed over Utah Valley University in three sets, 21-25, 25-22, 15-12. The Titans' had an outstanding blocking match against the hard-hitting Wolverines as Boddy, Johnson and Ruys each chalked up six blocks and Meidenbauer had five, including two solo stuffs.
Meidenbauer added 10 kills on 12 attempts, Ruys eight kills and Johnson had three service aces. Schinner collected 19 assists and five digs and Boddy totaled two service aces against their sixth-ranked opponent.
In the semifinals, UW-Oshkosh beat the University of Central Florida for the second time this season, 25-13, 27-25 to reach the championship match. The Knights came into the tournament unranked in the nation, but clearly were one of the best teams in the tournament.
After dominating the first set by relying on hitting errors, the Titans had to withstand a late rally to sweep the Knights after taking three sets to beat them at the Hoosier-Illini Classic in February.
The Titans again counted on their blocking as Johnson led the Titans with four and Ruys and Schinner each had three. Meidenbauer led the team with eight kills, Boddy and Ruys each had six and Mueller topped the team with two service aces. Eric Xiong (So. - Green Bay) provided four digs in the backcourt.
In the championship match, UW-Oshkosh let go of a first set lead and eventually lost 26-28, 25-19, 13-15 to 18th ranked Northern Arizona University. The Titans held advantages of 9-4, 16-11 and 24-21 but could not shut the door against the Lumberjacks in the first stanza.
UW-Oshkosh lost the match despite 16 kills from Meidenbauer and 12 from Ruys. Mueller led the Titans with three service aces and three digs, Boddy and Ruys contributed five blocks and Johnson had four blocks. Schinner provided the offense with 34 assists on the Titans' 40 kills.
"Despite our disappointment by not winning the tournament there a lot of positives to come out of playing in such a high level tournament," said head coach Brian Schaefer. "From top to bottom it is the strongest tournament in the nation and it will certainly get us ready for nationals. I thought Meidenbauer and Ruys played outstanding and as a team we can build on this as we head into the last three tournaments of our season."
Meidenbauer and Ruys were named to the all-tournament team at the conclusion of the event.
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