Volleyball sweeps Finlandia and North Park at North Central Invite

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team swept Finlandia, 3-0 (25-4, 25-7, 25-10), and North Park, 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-14), on Saturday at the Tiffany Robinson Memorial Tournament, hosted by North Central (Ill.).

The Pioneers never allowed Finlandia to lead in the first set as the Pioneers jumped out to a 7-3 lead, then went on a 18-1 run to win 25-4. UW-Platteville used another big run in the second-set to win 25-7 and then cruised to a 25-10 victory, sweeping the Lions.

UW-Platteville had four Pioneers with six or more digs and were led by sophomore Jennifer Schmidt with nine. Freshman Lidia Frias added eight and senior Stephanie Kirchner tallied seven. Junior Sarah Kolb totaled six kills, while Andrea Larsen led the team with seven digs.

In the Pioneers' final game of the weekend, they jumped out to a 6-0 lead and then went on to win 25-15 in the first-set over North Park. In the second-set, UW-Platteville took a 13-6 lead after a kill by Frias. The Pioneers held their seven-point cushion before scoring the final three to take a two set lead, 25-15. After going up 17-13 in the third-set, the Pioneers used a 8-1 run to sweep North Park, 25-14.

Kirchner recorded a game-high 10 kills, followed by freshman Amber Williams with eight.

The Pioneers return to conference play on Wednesday when they take on UW-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. Wednesday's game is the Pioneers' annual "Dig for a Cure" game and fans are encourage to wear pink clothing in support of all those affected by breast cancer.