Volleyball goes 2-0 at Dubuque

DUBUQUE, Iowa – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team went 2-0 on Friday at the University of Dubuque, beating the host Spartans 3-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-17, 25-22) and then Loras 3-2 (13-25, 28-26, 19-25, 25-20, 15-11).

The Pioneers dominated the net over the Spartans with a 25-4 blocks and 53-41 kills advantage. Freshmen Merritt Johnson and Allison Jensen led the Pioneers. Johnson recorded a game-high 13 kills, followed by Jensen with 12. Junior Jennifer Schmidt tallied a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Lidia Frias registered a game-high six block assists and a block solo.

With the first set tied at 5-5, the Pioneers went on a 10-3 run, forcing a UD timeout and taking a 15-8 lead. UW-Platteville never slowed down and cruised to a 25-17 opening set victory.

Spartans scored the final three points of the second set to take the set 25-23. A game-high nine attacke errors hindered the Pioneers from going up 2-0.

 The Spartans had no answer for the Pioneer blockers, as UW-Platteville recorded 12 blocks in the third set. Junior Lauren Grady, Frias and Schmidt all tallied three kills apiece. The Pioneers took the third set 25-17.

UW-Platteville never allowed UD to lead in the fourth set and jumped out to an 8-2 lead. With a 22-16 advantage, the Pioneers held on to close out the match 25-22.

Johnson and Schmidt led the Pioneers over the Duhawks with 13 kills each. Frias added 11 kills and a game-high six block assists.  

The Pioneers struggled in the opening set, falling 25-13 and hit -.069 for the set.

UW-Platteville had to comeback from six points down, 20-14, to win the set 28-26, while hitting .378.

Eleven attack errors in the third set doomed the Pioneers, 25-19.

The Pioneers bounced back with 14 kills and only three errors, forcing a fifth set, 25-20.

The Duhawks jumped out to a 6-3 lead, but the Pioneers battled back to tie the final set up 10-10. UW-Platteville went on win the fifth set 15-11.

The Pioneers return to conference play on Wednesday when they host UW-Oshkosh for their final regular season home game.