Pioneers Defeat Marantha Baptist Bible College and Edgewood College in Straight Sets

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville stretched its winning streak to seven with a pair of straight-set wins on Tuesday night. The Pioneers defeated Marantha Baptist Bible College, 25-19, 25-13, 25-21 and host Edgewood College, 26-24, 25-19, 25-13 in Madison.

UW-Platteville (7-3) had four players with double-digit kills and hit .352 in the win over Marantha Baptist. Leading the attack for the Pioneers with 12 kills was Briana Kaiser, who also had two block assists. She was joined in double digits by Stephanie Kirchner, who added 11 and LeeAnn Mizgalski and Samantha Rampart each had 10 kills apiece. Setters Ali Sikic and Allee Yundt had 29 and 13 assists, respectively; plus Brooke Nichols had 13 digs in the win.

Marantha Baptist (5-2) got a match-high 18 kills from Torey DeLozier in the defeat.

In the opening set, the Pioneers found themselves behind early before rallying to tie the set at 9 before a decisive 8-3 spurt for a 17-12 lead. UW-Platteville outhit Marantha Baptist by a .342 to .053 margin as well as a 17 to 8 advantage in kills.

In the second set, the Pioneers had 17 more kills as well as hit at a .500 clip. UW-Platteville raced out to a 5-0 lead on the service game of Ali Sikic. Marantha Baptist would get as close as three points but each threat was answered by the Pioneers. In the set, Briana Kaiser and Rampart would each record four kills and Mizgalski and Kirchner each added three kills.

To close out the match, the Pioneers for the third-straight set had 17 kills. Rampart and Briana Kaiser each added four kills. To start the set, UW-Platteville built a 9-2 lead and never looked back.

In the nightcap, UW-Platteville outhit Edgewood by a .225 to .078 margin. Recently crowned WIAC Volleyball Player of the Week Stephanie Kirchner led the attack with a match-high 12 kills to go along with five digs and two blocks in the win. Briana Kaiser had 10 kills and four blocks and Ali Sikic set the attack in the win with 30 assists.

Edgewood was led by Mallory Palmer, who had a double double with 10 kills and 11 digs in the defeat.

In the opening set, the Pioneers were facing match point at 22-24 until the host Eagles ran into the tandem of Emily and Briana Kaiser. The Cuba City, Wisconsin natives led UW-Platteville to four-straight points and a 26-24 victory.

The second set was also closely contest as the two teams were tied at 17 until UW-Platteville went ahead with a 6-1 spurt. In the spurt, Stephanie Kirchner had two kills and the Pioneers capitalized on a pair of Edgewood attack errors.

To complete the straight-set victory, in the third set, the Pioneers led from start to finish and closed out the match with a 12-4 run.

Next up for UW-Platteville is a trip to Whitewater, Wisconsin, where they will face St. Olaf at 3 p.m. and Rockford at 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16.