Bearcats Defeat FDU-Florham, Fall to UW-Oshkosh at TLU Bulldog Classic

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

SEGUIN, TEXAS -- Willamette University split a pair of matches on the opening day of the Texas Lutheran University Bulldog Classic, defeating Fairleigh Dickinson Univerrsity-Florham (N.J.), 3-0, before losing to the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 3-1. The Bearcats are 1-1 on the season.

In the opening match against FDU-Florham, the Bearcats rolled to a 25-19, 25-11, 25-10 victory.

Willamette was tied at 4-4 in the first game before running off six consecutive points, including five with Alexa Becker (Fr., OH, El Dorado Hills, CA/Rider University) serving. The Devils cut the lead to 20-16 after three consecutive kills by Melissa Gaffney and pulled with 21-19 on a kill by Rachel Catena, but WU scored the final four points.

The Bearcats reached set point on a kill by Alexa Dowdell (So., MH/OPP, Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS). Catena committed a ball-handling error on the next rally, as WU took a 1-0 lead.

Willamette cruised through the second set, again overcoming an early 4-4 tie. A 5-0 run, including two kills by Sarah Fincher (Jr., OH, Reno, NV/Bishop Manogue HS/Southwest Baptist Univ.) created a 9-4 lead. The Bearcats extended the margin to 15-6 before outscoring the Devils 10-6 the rest of the way.

In the third set, WU registered the first 13 points, with Peyton Wahl (Fr., DS/LIB, Richland, WA/Richland HS) serving for all put one of the points. She earned five service aces during the run.

Fincher led the Bearcats with seven kills. Dowdell, Taylor Gee (Sr., MH/OH, San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS) and Taylor Lum (So., MH/OH, Honolulu, HI/Maryknoll HS) each added five kills. Gee achieved a .833 hitting percentage with five kills and no errors on six attacks.

Lindsey Compton (Jr., OH/S, Portola, CA/Portola HS/Univ. of Hartford) contributed 21 assists, while Becker earned nine digs. WU hit .253 as a team and finished the match with 31 kills.

FDU-Florham was led by Melissa Gaffney, who produced 10 kills. Codi Inloes-Williams supplied 16 assists and eight digs. The Devils hit negative .045 as a team with 22 kills and 26 attacking errors.

Wisconsin-Oshkosh defeated Willamette, 25-17, 23-25, 25-19, 25-19. The Titans hit .230 during the match, as they achieved 60 kills overall. Brooke Brinkman led the way with 19 kills, while Katelyn Malcheski earned 13 kills and Nerissa Vogt added 10. Mandy Trautman contributed a match-high 32 digs.

Fincher topped Willamette with 14 kills and 18 digs. Dowdell supplied 11 kills and 12 digs, while Wahl registered 11 digs. Compton finished the match with 33 assists.

WU held a 3-0 lead in the first game, but UW-Oshkosh rallied for a 10-5 advantage. The Bearcats countered with a 6-2 run to pull within a single point at 13-12. Willamette cut the lead to a single point four more times, including 16-15 on a kill by Dowdell and 17-16 following a ball-handling error by the Titans.

The Bearcats were unable to tie the score and UW-Oshkosh ended the set with an 8-1 run to take a 1-0 lead.

Willamette edged the Titans, 25-23, in the second set. The Bearcats trailed led 5-1 before UW-Oshkosh battled back to tie the score at 11-11. Three rallies later, WU used a kill by Fincher to move in front, 13-12, and the Bearcats kept the lead. The Titans threatened to come back, cutting a 24-20 lead to 24-23. WU prevailed on an attacking error by Jessica Fischer of UWO.

The third set was close throughout with 11 ties and five lead changes. WU tied the set for the final time at 18-18. The Titans countered with five unanswered points for a 23-18 lead. Fischer completed the run with a kill. Fincher answered with a kill for Willamette, but the next two points went to Oshkosh.

WU rallied from deficits of 5-1 and 11-6 to eventually take a 19-18 lead following back-to-back attacking errors by the Titans. UW-Oshkosh recorded the next seven points to win the set 25-19 and take the match 3-1.

On Saturday, the Bearcats will conclude the TLU Bulldog Classic with two matches. Willamette will take on Concordia University (Texas) at 10 a.m. CDT/8 a.m. PDT and will play Schreiner University (Texas) at 2 p.m. CDT/12 p.m. PDT.