UW-Oshkosh Wins MIVA Championship (3-26-12)
The UW-Oshkosh men's collegiate club volleyball team won the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association championship for the second time in three years by beating number one ranked University of Notre Dame (Ind.), 25-20, 25-23 on Sunday (March 25) in DeKalb, Illinois. The Titans (35-3) went 8-0 over the two-day event and are now in the mix to claim their fourth National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Division I title in the last seven years.
Despite losing one set to Grand Valley State University (Mich.) in their opening match, UW-Oshkosh dominated play the rest of the tournament by only allowing more than 22 points twice in their sweep of their other seven opponents. After cruising to a 25-12 win in the opening set against the Lakers, the Titans let a 17-12 advantage in the second stanza slip away in a 25-23 defeat before dominating the third set 15-6.
Tyler Boddy (Sr. - New Ulm, Minn.) and Bill Meidenbauer (Sr. - Waukesha) each had eight kills to lead the Titans at the net. Andy Schinner (Sr. - Mequon) tallied a team leading eight digs and 25 assists and Boddy added five blocks. Zach Johnson (Jr. - Mequon) had three blocks, three service aces and four kills and Nick Mueller (Jr. - Kenosha) pitched in five kills and three service aces. UW-Oshkosh hit .467 in set one and .583 in set three to take control.
UW-Oshkosh made short work of #5 ranked University of Wisconsin 25-14, 25-21 in a battle of supremacy in the state. The Titans were led by Meidenbauer who had seven digs and six kills. Boddy had seven kills on 11 errorless attempts and Schinner handed out 19 assists. Dan Ruys (Sr. - Kimberly) amassed three blocks and Johnson and Mueller each had four kills against the Badgers.
UW-Oshkosh withstood upstart Ohio Northern University by slamming down 36 kills in a 25-23, 25-19 victory over the Polar Bears. Meidenbauer accumulated one third of the those kills with a team leading 12 and Boddy, Mueller and Ruys each had six put aways. Mueller scooped up seven digs, Boddy had five and Mattingly ended the match with four. Vince Odorizzi (Sr. - Pleasant Prairie) tallied three blocks and Schinner had 29 of the Titans 33 assists.
The Titans put together perhaps one of their best matches of the year against #8 Indiana University in a 25-17, 25-15 sweep. "We have a lot of respect for Indiana University," said head coach Brian Schaefer. "Their setter is the best in the NCVF and really puts blockers on the defensive. For us to play that well says a lot about our focus in the match." Mueller led the Titans with eight kills and Ruys was a perfect five for five in kill attempts. Schinner led the offense with 21 assists, Mattingly had six digs and Meidenbauer had three service aces. The Titans served especially strong with only five errors in the match to go along with four service aces.
In bracket play on Sunday UW-Oshkosh got by the University of Iowa 25-16, 25-15 to start the day. Mattingly, Meidenbauer and Mueller each had four digs, Schinner dished out 16 assists and Johnson had three blocks. Meidenbauer had seven kills on nine attempts and Mueller had a team best two service aces.
In the quarterfinals the Titans beat their third straight Big Ten Conference opponent in Purdue University (Ind.) 25-17, 25-19. Johnson and Meidenbauer each put down eight kills to lead the Titans attack. Schinner had 18 assists and five digs, Meidenbauer recorded three block solos, four digs and two service aces and Mattingly had a team leading five digs. Johnson pitched in two solo blocks and Mueller had four digs.
After holding its opponent under 20 points for the eight straight set, UW-Oshkosh won a tight second frame against WVC foe Lakeland College in a 25-12, 25-21 semifinal win. Meidenbauer again led the Titans with nine kills as six Titans had three or more kills. Johnson tallied three service aces and Schinner posted 19 assists. It was the Titans third win over the Muskies this season with another match set for Tuesday, March 27th at 8:00 p.m. at Kolf Sports Center.
In its third meeting of the year against the Fighting Irish, the Titans improved to 2-1 on with its win over #1 ranked University of Notre Dame. The Titans lead from start to finish in set one and trailed by three early in set two before rallying. Behind the serve of Meindenbauer and the block of Johnson the Titans forged ahead 22-20. The Fighting Irish answered with two points to knot the score at 22-22. Johnson sided out and Meindenbauer scored a point on his serve to hand the Titans its first match point opportunity at 24-22. After a time-out, the teams traded missed serves giving UW-Oshkosh the championship.
Not surprisingly, Meidenbauer led the Titans with 11 kills, including eight in the second set. He added five blocks and a service ace. Schinner passed out 18 assists and had four digs and Mattingly came up big in the back court with nine digs. Johnson finished with six blocks and Boddy and Ruys each had five kills. The Titans finished with ten total blocks as a team.
"Playing as a team is no longer just words for the guys," added Schaefer. "I am sure it would surprise a lot of people that Mueller only had one kill in our win in the championship match. His role in the match was to serve well and pass the ball and he did both those things extremely well given our other hitters the opportunity to score. I can't say enough on how well Schinner set, Meidenbauer hit and how as a whole our team blocked. The guys played great all weekend."
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