Volleyball goes 1-1 in final day of UW-Platteville Tournament

Written By: Colten Bartholomew, UW-Platteville Sports Information Student Assistant

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team split its final two games of the 2013 UW-Platteville Tournament Saturday, moving the team's record on the season to 4-4.

Saturday's games began with the Pioneers defeating Grinnell College 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 25-22, 25-16) on the strength of double-digit kill performances from junior Leann Mizgalski and sophomores Jennifer Schmidt and Amanda Koenen. The trio had 13, 12 and 10 kills, respectively. 

Sophomore Katie O'Malley put in a strong performance, assisting on 34 kills against Grinnell. 

Back to back kills early in the first set by Koenen put the Pioneers up 12-5 and they would never let the lead get lower than four on the way to the win. In the fourth and deciding set, UW-Platteville responded from being down 0-3 with a 9-1 run, and rode that momentum to the win. 

The second match of the day saw the host team lose in straight sets against St. Norbert (25-15, 25-22, 25-20). 

Despite the loss, the Pioneers again relied on the offensive efforts of Mizgalski, who ended the match with 13 kills. The host team's downfall was its attack errors, racking up 20 compared to St. Norbert's nine.

After being tied 2-2 in the first set, the Pioneers fell behind as St. Norbert posted a 14-7 run, from which the Pioneers were unable to recover. 

UW-Platteville battled back in the second set, and had the score tied at 19, but St. Norbert's Heidi Spies posted back-to-back kills and the Pioneers could not catch up. It was much of the same in the third set, as the teams kept it close until late in the contest when St. Norbert went on a 9-5 to take the match. 

Freshman Lindsey Decker was named to the All-Tournament after recording 21 digs versus Grinnell then 13 against St. Norbert.

The Pioneers return to the court Friday when they travel to the Carthage College Invitational, taking on Illinois Wesleyan at 4 p.m.

All-Tournament Team
Millikin - Audrey Krajeck and Erica Wilson
Edgewood - Jordan Winkler
UW-Platteville - Lindsey Decker
St. Norbert - Heidi Spies
Carroll - Katrina Zenz