Winner plays in WIAC tourney championship Saturday
After a first-round bye in the WIAC tourney, the 13th-ranked University of Wisconsin-La Crosse volleyball team gets started at home at 7 p.m. tonight.
The No. 2-seeded Eagles (21-4) face off against third-seeded UW-Oshkosh (28-6) – a team that’s ranked 20th and fell to UW-L 3-1 on Oct. 5.
The Eagles, Titans and 11th-ranked UW-Whitewater (25-6) all shared the WIAC regular-season title this year.
If the Eagles win tonight – Whitewater is playing 17th ranked UW-Stevens Point – the WIAC tourney championship will take place Saturday at the highest-seeded team. A win there gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Last year, UW-L received an at-large bid to the tourney and was swept 3-0 by Carthage in the first round.
UW-L is making its 25th appearance in the WIAC tournament, winning the title in 2003. The Eagles are 25-28 in tournament play during that time.
This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the teams in the WIAC tournaemnt. The Eagles lead the series 7-3, last winning 3-1 win over the Titans in the third-place match last season. The Eagles lost in their first match of the tournament.
UW-L last advanced to the WIAC tournament championship match in 2004, falling 3-0 to UW-Stout. UW-Oshkosh last appeared in the championship match in 2008, earning a 3-2 victory over UW-Eau Claire.