UW-Oshkosh Men’s Volleyball Does It Again (4-10-16)
The UW-Oshkosh men’s volleyball team won its third consecutive National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Division I national title by going 9-0 over the course of three days (April 9-11) in Louisville, Kentucky. With its sixth national championship the Titans join the University of California-Berkeley with the most Division I national titles and have won 27 straight matches at the event.
UW-Oshkosh (56-4) entered the 48-team championship as the third seed behind California Polytechnic University and Virginia Tech University. The Titans opened up play with a tough 27-25, 25-19 win over the University of Pittsburgh (Pa.), a dominating 25-9, 25-10 victory against Michigan State University and a commanding 25-17, 25-21 win over #22 Santa Clara University (Ca.).
Allen Grunert (Jr. – Muskego) and Tyler Range (Sr. – Kenosha) led the Titans with six kills against the Panthers. Travis Hudson (Sr. – Wauwatosa) dished out 17 assists and had two blocks, Range stopped three attacks and Devin Hudson (Fr. – Wauwatosa), Wesley Morioka (Sr. – Chicago, Ill.) and Alec Redlich (Sr. – Wauwatosa) each had four kills.
In the dismantling of the Spartans Range led the team with seven kills, Grunert and Redlich added six, Morioka five and Devin Hudson four as the Titans hit .675 in the match. Sam Moua (Jr. – Appleton) added nine digs, Grunert and Redlich each had three service aces and Travis Hudson distributed 25 assists. Nate Leitermann (Jr. – Brookfield) added one kill on one attempt in his first action of the season.
“I know it meant a lot to Nate to get into a match this season,” said head coach Brian Schaefer. “He has been an amazing teammate since injuring his foot in practice in January. It was a tough situation for him to watch from the sidelines, but he handled the setback the best way possible.”
Redlich had a great overall match against the Broncos with seven kills, six digs and three blocks. Range also put down seven kills and added three blocks, Travis Hudson provided 22 assists and Grunert and Devin Hudson each had five kills. With its three victories, the Titans won the opening pool of the tournament for the eighth straight year.
“It is really important to hold seed,” added Schaefer. “A lot of times other teams have nothing to lose on the opening day so you have to be ready to play to avoid an upset. Devin Hudson did a great job giving other players rest after being hurt the last six weeks. That really helped our team remain fresh the entire weekend.”
After a couple of early Friday morning upsets UW-Oshkosh faced James Madison University (Va.) and Illinois State University for a spot in the 16-team gold bracket single elimination tournament on Saturday. The Titans got things rolling right away by destroying the Dukes 25-10, 25-15 behind six kills by Range.
Grunert and Eaven Mason (Fr. – Milwaukee) each had five kills and Moua led the back court with five digs. Morioka added three blocks and Sammy Pedersen (Jr. – Muskego) piled up three service aces. Devin Hudson, Mason and Range each had three blocks and Travis Hudson ran the offense with 17 assists.
After winning the first set 25-21 against the Redbirds the Titans were guaranteed first place in the pool because of set winning percentage after James Madison University beat Illinois State University in two sets. After losing a close second set 29-27, the Titans regrouped to claim the match 15-12 to send the Redbirds to the silver bracket.
Morioka led the team with 11 kills and added three blocks. Travis Hudson added 30 assists and provided four blocks and nine kills, including four in the deciding third set. Moua provided five digs, Grunert nine kills and Redlich seven kills and two solo blocks.
“Illinois State University played at a very high level,” added Schaefer. “It was a great test and provided what Saturday’s action would be like for us.”
In the opening round of 16 on Saturday the Titans controlled the tempo of the game and beat #18 University of Maryland 25-18, 25-14. The middle blocking duo of Mason and Range each had five kills and Range had four blocks. Travis Hudson had 13 assists, four kills and four blocks and Moua had six digs. Grunert had a match high four service aces and the Titans did not have a receiving error in the match.
In a rematch of last year’s championship match UW-Oshkosh grinded out a 25-19, 25-22 victory over #11 Arizona State University. Mason came up big at the net racking up three blocks against the Sun Devils strong middle hitting attack. Grunert and Redlich each had seven kills and Range had six kills and two solo blocks. Travis Hudson had 19 assists, five kills and two blocks and Mike Wamboldt (Jr. – Kenosha) had five digs.
After a humbling loss in the opening set against #2 ranked Virginia Tech University in the semifinals, the Titans rebounded to take the match in three sets by the count of 15-25, 25-21, 15-12 to reach the championship match for the eighth time in team history.
After recording seven hitting errors in the first set, the Titans only committed six miscues the rest of the way as their offense came to life fueled by consistent passing. Grunert led the team with nine kills and added a service ace. Redlich added eight kills and two service aces, Range had six kills and two blocks and Hudson had 24 assists, four kills and two blocks. Pedersen came up big with a service ace to end the second set and Wamboldt added four digs.
The Titans were able to build leads of 8-4 and 11-7 before the Hokies closed to within 13-11. The match ended with two side outs and a tip out of bounds by Virginia Tech University. This was the three year in a row that the Hokies ended their season losing in three sets in the gold bracket.
In a highly intense national championship match the Titans experience took over when big plays were needed for a 25-21, 22-25, 15-13 victory over #9 Penn State University. UW-Oshkosh’s offense was dispersed well as Grunert, Range, Redlich and Travis Hudson each had seven kills, including four in the third set by Grunert. Moua led the team with eight digs and Travis Hudson had 22 assists, five blocks and two service aces. Range added four blocks, Mason three and Grunert two as the Titans had nine in the match.
Down 8-6 at the side switch in the third set the Titans went on a 5-2 run to take an 11-10 lead before the Nittany Lions tied the score at 11-11 and once again at 12-12. After a side out by Range, the Titans took a 14-12 lead after a hitting error. After a side out by Penn State University to make the score 14-13 in favor of UW-Oshkosh, Range had a hit dug that led to a chance by the Nittany Lions. Morioka scooped up a dig that led to a Grunert kill from Travis Hudson to set off the Titans celebration.
“As a coach I didn’t know if we had it in us to pull this one out after we lost the second set,” stated Schaefer. “Team chemistry is a big part of every sport and we have a ton on this team. They dug deep to win for each other and took home another national championship. It is surreal feeling that never gets old and I am extremely proud of these fine young men.”
With the victory the Titans remain a consistent title contender every year, finishing third or better at the national tournament 10 out of the last 12 years with titles in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016 and runner up finishes in 2005 and 2009.
“We use the slogan ‘Tradition Driven’ when talking about our program,” added Schaefer. “The alumni care about our current team as much as our current team cares about our alumni. We have built something special at Oshkosh and it is honor to be part of something so tremendous.”
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