Pair of Sweeps Increases Pioneers Win Streak to Nine

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball continued its impressive start to the season with two more wins on Saturday, sweeping both St. Olaf and Buena Vista inside Kohawk Arena.

UW-Platteville improved to 9-0 to start the season, its longest win streak to open a campaign in over 20 years. The team has collected seven sweeps so far, including three of the four matches played this weekend at the Mabel Lee Invite.

The Pioneers scored the first five points of the opening set against St. Olaf and later led by as many as eight before the Oles rallied to cut the deficit down to three. UW-Platteville ended the comeback attempt by scoring three straight points to win 25-19. The Oles started strong in the second set, leading 9-2 before the Pioneers responded with a pair of runs to tie the set at 15. UW-Platteville took the lead with a four-point run and later won the set 26-24 on a kill from freshman Kierney McDonald. The Pioneers had control for much of the third set but a late St. Olaf run kept it close. UW-Platteville completed the sweep by scoring the final two points in the set to win 25-23.

Junior Claudia Johnson led the team with 12 kills while posting a .348 hitting percentage. Junior Camryn Johnston and senior Sam Rossetti added eight and seven kills, respectively. Freshman Bri Gartner posted a team-high 18 digs while the Pioneers recorded 10 block assists as a team, led by three from McDonald. Over the course of the match, UW-Platteville hit .215, including strong marks of .351 in the first set and .355 in the third set.

In the afternoon match against Buena Vista, the Pioneers led throughout the opening set and won 25-17. UW-Platteville opened strong in the second set as well, taking an early seven-point lead before cruising to a 25-18 win. The Pioneers once again led early in the third set but the Beavers were able to get back within three late in the set. Back-to-back kills from Johnson extended the lead back to six and helped the Pioneers close out Buena Vista at 25-19.

Sophomore Madilyn Schultz led the way with 11 kills while sophomore Emma Carlson and Johnson both added seven. Gartner finished with nine digs while Carlson and sophomore Kylie Greenfield both finished with six. The Pioneers finished with nine service aces as a team along with 10 block assists, including four by McDonald.

The Pioneers return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 14 when they host the reigning national champion UW-Eau Claire at 7 p.m.

*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.