Falcons Rally to Topple the Titans

MEQUON, Wis. – The Falcons bounced back after dropping the first two sets of the night to down Wisconsin- Oshkosh on Wednesday night. The Falcons won their second-straight five-set match, 24-26, 21-25, 25-10, 25-16, 15-8 to improve to 15-3 on the season and increase the winning streak to 12 matches.

The Titans took an early lead in the first set and pushed the lead to five points before the Falcons stormed back to tie the set at 18 with a kill from freshman Lauren Shroba (Bolingbrook, Ill.). In a set that saw seven ties, the Titans took the final two points to take the set, 26-24.

The Black and Yellow pounced on the Falcons early in the second set and took an early 10-2 lead. The serve of junior Sierra Lee (Kenosha, Wis.) proved to be lethal for UWO and the Falcons tied the set at 10. UWO used a 4-0 to get some separation and take the set at 25-21.

With their backs to the wall, the Falcons came out swinging in the third set and blasted the Black and Yellow with a 25-10 victory. The Blue and White hit a blistering .517 in the set and saw senior McKenna Nigl (Richland Center, Wis.) and sophomore Maycee Karpfinger (Wauwatosa, Wis.) land four kills and a block.

The Falcons rode that momentum into the fourth set and pushed the lead to 15-7 with a kill from junior Jenna Chaussee (Chilton, Wis.). The Titans did not fade into the darkness and cut the CUW to five points before CUW closed the set on an 8-4 run.

The Titans took an early lead in the fifth set at 3-1, but that did not last long. The birds bounced back to win the next four points behind the serve of Jenna Chaussee. The serve of Sierra Lee burned the Titans again in the fifth set when the Falcons soared to a 10-5 lead. A kill from Jenna Chaussee was the final nail in the coffin for UWO at 15-8. CUW saw six Falcons land a kill in the fifth set.

Lauren Shroba led the flock with 15 kills on Wednesday. The 15 ties her career-high.

Senior Makenzie Vertz (Mukwonago, Wis.) earned another double-double performance with 24 assists and 14 digs.

Senior Madelyn Alton (Farwell, Minn.) frustrated the UWO attack with another stellar performance in the back row with 32 digs. Chaussee was second on the team with 14.

Sierra Lee landed three service aces and 21 assists.

The victory was the second victory in program history over Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

The Falcons resume NACC action on Friday at Benedictine.