Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Direct Pickup of a UW-Oshkosh Press Release

The UW-Oshkosh men’s volleyball team won the 2011 Midwest Ten Conference regular season and tournament championship after finishing pool play and then beating three teams in single elimination bracket play on Saturday (March 5) in DeKalb, Illinois.

UW-Oshkosh (25-4), ranked third in the latest National Collegiate Volleyball Federation Division I poll, defeated Ball State University (Ind.), 25-19, 25-20 and #10 Northern Illinois University (Ill.), 25-11, 25-17 to finish the regular season at 6-2 in conference.

Bill Meidenbauer (Jr. – Waukesha) led the Titans against the Cardinals with 10 kills. Andy Schinner (Sr. – Mequon) dished out 21 assists, Brian Fox (Sr. – Fond du Lac) added six digs and two service aces and Dan Ruys (Sr. – Kimberly) collected seven kills and three blocks.

The Titans only committed three hitting errors in their rout of the Huskies. Jordan Mattingly (Sr. – Kaukauna) led the team with six kills on only seven attempts, Nick Mueller (So. – Kenosha) added five kills on seven attempts and Ruys was a perfect four for four on kill attempts. Gus Odorizzi (Sr. – Pleasant Prairie) totaled four blocks, Mueller collected five digs and two service aces and Bob Hall (So. – Appleton) led the offense with 14 assists.

The Titans entered Midwest Ten Conference tournament action as the third seed after claiming the regular season conference title with Northern Illinois University, the University of Notre Dame (Ind.) and UW-Milwaukee.

In the quarterfinals, UW-Oshkosh battled back from an early deficit in set one to post a 25-23, 25-19 victory over Illinois State University. Tyler Boddy (Sr. – New Ulm, Minn.) posted nine kills, Schinner piled up a tournament high 31 assists, Ruys led the team with four blocks and added six kills and Zach Johnson (So. – Wauwatosa) finished with six put-downs.

The Titans started off strong in the semifinals against Marquette University and held on to win a tight second set to advance to the finals after a 25-13, 25-22 victory. Johnson posted a work-man-ship eight kills on nine attempts to pace UW-Oshkosh. Meidenbauer posted seven kills and Schinner racked up 18 assists. The Titans finished with seven service aces and only had one receiving error in the match.

In the championship match, UW-Oshkosh capped the day without losing a set with a 25-21, 25-19 sweep over #13 UW-Milwaukee. Ruys led the Titans by registering eight kills on nine attempts and Meidenbauer had seven kills and three service aces.

With the championships, UW-Oshkosh has now won the Midwest Ten Conference regular season or tournament championship nine years in a row. The Titans won the regular season title in 2004 and 2009, the tournament title in 2010 and both titles in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011. In all, the Titans have won a total of 15 Midwest Ten Conference regular season or tournament championships in the last nine years.

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