Whitewater, Wis. -- The No. 11 UW-Whitewater volleyball team battled through five sets against third-ranked UW-Oshkosh Wednesday evening in Russell Arena. 

The Warhawks won the opening set with more efficient hitting and better serve-receive than their counterpart. UWW used a 4-0 run early to open up a five-point lead but the Titans battled back to tie the set. A 6-1 Warhawk run late in the set gave UW-Whitewater a 22-15 lead that eventually led to the 25-19 final. 

Set two was all UWO as the Titans jumped out to an 11-2 lead before taking the set 25-14. 

The Warhawks responded in set three - the longest set of the season. After a back-and-forth start, UW-Oshkosh used a couple small runs to build a five-point advantage midway through. Later, UWW trailed 23-20 before coming back to knot the set 24-24. The Warhawks would have five set points thwarted by UW-Oshkosh. The Titans had their first opportunity at 30-29 but Aubrie Krzus (Wheaton, Ill./Warrenville South) tallied the kill to even the set. Emma Bludgen (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) had a perfectly placed serve in the back left corner for an ace and another set point, but once again UWO was able to even the score. Abbie Dix (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) hammered down a kill on the next rally to force another Warhawk set point, and this time Kylee Altendorf (West Bend, Wis./West) delivered with a kill from the outside to give UWW a 2-1 lead in the match. 

UW-Oshkosh used the momentum from a 25-17 set four victory to build an early lead in the fifth. Trailing 9-5, Head Coach Stacy Boudreau called for a timeout and the Warhawks responded on the other side of the break. UWW scored six of the next seven points to claim the lead 11-10. A couple of Titan kills led to another UW-Whitewater timeout with UWO leading 13-11. This time the Titans held on for the 15-12 win. 

Gaby DiMotto (New Berlin, Wis./West) paced the Warhawk offense with 13 kills while Dix added 10. Krzus set up the UWW hitters with 43 assists adding three aces and four blocks in the contest. 

Defensively at the net, Dix registered seven blocks while DiMotto and Amanda Hillmann (Cedarburg, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) each tallied five. In the backcourt, Natalie Lawton (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep) led UWW with 22 digs. Altendorf (14), Kyanne Wusterbarth (Oconto, Wis./Oconto) (10) and Bludgen (10) joined Lawton in double digits.

The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference race and seedings for the league tournament will come down to the final league match.  UW-La Crosse and UW-Stout are set to play next Wednesday with the other three conference matches scheduled for Friday, November 7.