UW-Oshkosh II Finishes as NCVF Division III National Runner-Up (4-14-15)
UW-Oshkosh II continued its impressive showings at the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Division III national championship by capturing a runner-up finish to the University of Arizona II held Thursday-Saturday (April 9-11) in Kansas City, Missouri.
UW-Oshkosh II (36-10-2), which entered the tournament as the number one seed overall, breezed through their first pool on Thursday by beating the University of Pittsburgh II 25-15, 25-18, Brown University 25-12, 25-15 and the University of Michigan II 25-12, 25-17.
Nate Leitermann (So. - Brookfield) led the Titans in their first match with seven kills on nine errorless attempts. He added two blocks over the Panthers. Adam Landgraf (Jr. - Kenosha) dished out 21, Sammy Pedersen (So. - Muskego) added seven kills and Sam Moua (So. - Appleton) provided a team-leading four digs. The Titans hit .558 in the match on 28 kills.
UW-Oshkosh II piled up 30 kills and a .431 hitting percentage in their win over Brown University. Pedersen led the team with seven kills on nine errorless attempts. Landgraf ran the offense with 21 assists and added seven digs and Moua tallied seven digs. Leitermann, Braeden Melton (Jr. - Brookfield) and Tanner Swan (So. - Brookfield) each had five kills in the win and Zach Tazalla (So. - Whitefish Bay) chalked up six digs.
In their last match in pool play the Titans had 25 team digs led by Landgraf's six saves. He also piled up 19 assists on the Titans' 26 team kills. Pedersen and Swan led the team with six kills and Melton added five kills on seven attempts. Alex Harty (So. - Racine) and Moua had four digs and Joe Kuchler (So. - Muskego) and Tazalla added three saves each.
UW-Oshkosh II entered Friday's action needing to finish either first or second in their three-team pool to reach the gold bracket of the national championship for the 11th straight season. UW-Oshkosh II responded with a 25-14, 25-14 victory over the University of Central Florida II and a 25-20, 25-21 sweep of Virginia Tech University II.
Leitermann led the Titans in the win over the Knights with seven kills and four blocks. Melton added six kills, Swan and Pedersen five and Tazalla four as UW-Oshkosh II piled up 29 kills in the match. Landgraf ran the offense with 25 assists and Moua provided seven digs.
In their second match of the day, Pedersen had seven kills and Harty led the team with five digs against the hard-hitting Hokies. UW-Oshkosh II was paced by Landgraf with 19 assists and Leitermann had four blocks.
Entering the single elimination portion of the tournament on Saturday, the Titans received a bye in the first round before hanging on to beat Purdue University II 25-14, 27-25. Pedersen was the offensive leader in the contest with seven kills and added four blocks, including two solo stuffs. All six of the Titans hitters had at least two kills.
Moua led the backcourt with seven digs and Landgraf had 14 assists and four digs. Leitermann had five blocks and Swan added three stuffs. Harty pitched in with four digs and Tazalla had three blocks. With the win the Titans reached the semifinals for the ninth time in team history.
UW-Oshkosh II had to go to extended points in the second set, but prevailed in a 25-21, 27-25 win over Penn State University II to send the Titans into the title game for the fifth time. Leitermann led the Titans with seven kills and four blocks and Pedersen pitched in four kills and four blocks. Moua had eight digs and Landgraf provided 24 assits and six digs.
After sweeping its first seven opponents the Titans ran into an experienced University of Arizona II team and lost 25-14, 25-23 to fall short of their second consecutive national title. After struggling offensively in the first set, UW-Oshkosh II came to life behind the arm of Leitemann. Leitermann put down seven kills in the set and finished with 10 total kills in the match. Moua had six digs and Landgraf ran the offense with 17 assists. Melton added six kills and four blocks.
“I don't think you define your season on if you win the national title or not,” said head coach Will Brydon. “Obviously that is our goal every year and we were right there in the second set with a very talented University of Arizona II team. We only had three returners from our 2014 national championship team so there is nothing for this team to hang their heads about. We had a fantastic season.”
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