Pioneers edged in 5-set thriller

If the opening night of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play is any indication, the 2017 season is going to be a wild ride, as two of the four matches went five sets, including UW-Platteville's opener at UW-Stout.

The Blue Devils edged the Pioneers 25-27, 25-23, 25-19, 12-25, 15-12 in Menomonie, Wisconsin Wednesday night in front of 678 fans in Johnson Fieldhouse.

Allison Jensen turned in a monster game for the Pioneers with 18 kills, two aces, 13 digs, two solo blocks and two assisted blocks. Katie Jones added seven blocks, and Karlie Niedert had six. Maddie Dower also led the defensive effort with 18 digs, and Maddie Sailors added nine. Grace Austin (20 assists) and Sydney Soderbeck (16) set the tone for the offense.

The Blue Devils had three players in double-digit kills, led by Amber Ripley's 14. Steph Cannon turned in a match-high 29 digs.

UW-Stout improved to 5-7 overall, while the Pioneers slipped to 9-5. Coach Sam Birkicht's club travels to Indiana this weekend for matches against Manchester and host Franklin.

For more information on WIAC play, see the conference weekly release.

By Paul Erickson, Director, UW-Platteville Communications, 608.342.1194, pr@uwplatt.edu.