Hillebrand, Pioneers win NCAA III opener

No. 14 and third-seeded UW-Platteville (32-3) shut out sixth-seeded Dominican University (Ill., 26-10), 3-0, on Friday, Nov. 12 at the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Regional at Carthage College's Tarble Arena in Kenosha, Wis.

The Pioneers' winning set scores over the Stars were 25-18, 25-20 and 25-16.

Melissa Hillebrand led UW-Platteville with 17 kills and a school-record .895 attack percentage (17 kills and no errors in 19 attempts). She topped the .875 that Brooke Kaiser hit (14 kills in 16 attempts) against Ripon in 2000.

Melanie Bailiff had eight kills with a .389 mark, while Emily Kaiser collected six kills and five block assists. Setter Ali Sikic averaged 12.67 assists per set.

Claire Dezelski topped Dominican (Ill.) with 12 kills.

UW-Platteville will take on seventh-ranked and second-seeded Carthage on Saturday, Nov. 12 in a 7 p.m. semifinal match.

NCAA III Regional Results

Midwest Regional at Carthage College

Friday First Round

Wartburg def. UW-Whitewater (25-17, 25-23, 25-17)

Washington (Mo.) def. Beloit (25-18, 25-13, 25-11)

UW-Platteville def. Dominican (Ill.) (25-18, 25-20, 25-16)

Carthage def. UW-Oshkosh (25-15, 25-15, 25-11)

Saturday Semifinals

Wartburg vs. Washington (Mo.) 4:30 p.m.

UW-Platteville vs. Carthage 7 p.m.

Sunday Regional Championship

Title match 4 p.m.