Oshkosh II Finishes in 5th Place (4-14-08)
The UW-Oshkosh II team advanced to the gold division of the NIRSA Division III national championship for the fourth straight year and finished in fifth-place Thursday through Saturday (April 10-12) in Dallas, Texas.
UW-Oshkosh (43-11) opened the tournament as the fifth seed after finishing second at the Midwest Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Division II tournament at the end of March.
The Titans opened play on Thursday against Cornell University II (N.Y.) and came away with a quick 25-21, 25-19 victory. Mike Cotter (So. • Appleton), the reigning Wisconsin Volleyball Conference Division II Player of the Year, led the team with eight kills and Gus Odorizzi (Fr. • Pleasant Prairie) added five kills and three blocks. Mike Callaway (Sr. • Waukesha) added four blocks, Jim Hall (Jr. • Appleton) six digs and Bradie Williams (Fr. • Cross Plains) 17 assists.
In the second round, the Titans avenged an earlier season loss against Illinois State University II with a 25-23, 25-11 stomping. Cotter piled up seven kills and three service aces, Chris Schinner (Jr. • Mequon) added six kills and Williams dished out 18 assists. Mike Murphy (Jr. • Richland Center) had three solo blocks.
"Mike Murphy played well in the match," said head coach Brian Schaefer. "He has gotten so much better over the course of the year and has a nose for the ball. He makes plays when he is out on the court."
In Friday's opening round the Titans dismantled the University of California-Davis II by the mark of 25-23, 25-19. Cotter led the team with eight kills and Greg Lulich (Jr. • Ashland) had a team-leading six digs in only one game played.
Odorizzi had seven kills on nine errorless attempts and Bradie tallied 23 assists. On the defensive side of the ball Callaway scooped up five digs and Murphy had three blocks.
For the right to claim first-place in the opening pool of the tournament, UW-Oshkosh could not sustain the momentum they gained in an exciting second game and fell 21-25, 30-32, 15-4 to fourth seed Virginia Tech University II.
Cotter led the team for the fourth straight game with 10 kills and two service aces and Williams led the offense with 25 helpers. Odorizzi and Callaway each had seven kills and Hall amassed six digs. The Titans were limited to only two blocks in the contest.
For a spot in the gold bracket on Saturday, UW-Oshkosh won its challenge match over the Ohio State University II 25-19, 28-26 in the final match on Friday. Odorizzi had a breakout performance with a team tournament high of 12 kills on 17 attempts. Callaway added five digs and two blocks and Murphy and Cotter each had three blocks. Williams again led the team with 25 assists.
In the opening round on Saturday in the gold bracket, UW-Oshkosh could not pull out the close game, falling to the University of California-Berkeley II 25-23, 25-23 to end their season.
"Our passing was a little off in this match and we did not force middle enough," added Schaefer. "The contest could have gone either way but we did not have the ball bounce our way."
Schinner and Cotter each had seven kills and Odorizzi added six put-downs. Hall tallied five digs and Williams had 20 assists and four digs. Callaway had a tournament team-best four service aces. The Titans were hampered with 16 hitting errors in the match.
"It was a solid season for us considering we had only four returning members back on the Division II team," said Schaefer. "It hurt having Jordan Mattingly (Fr. • Kaukauna) out for the tournament due to injury, but we battle against some very good teams. The Division II team has always been high on the team concept and this year's squad was no different. With another year of experience we will again be an outstanding team next season."
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