UW-Platteville Splits on Final Day of UW-Platteville Invitational; Pioneers Knock Off No. 7 Carthage

For a second-straight day, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball split its two matches of the UW-Platteville Invitational. The Pioneers dropped a 20-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-22 decision to Cornell to start the day before bouncing back to knock off No. 7 Carthage, 25-20, 25-16, 25-23.

With the 1-1 record for the second-straight day, the Pioneers are now 18-7 on the 2011 season and will return to the rigorous action of the WIAC when they face UW-Whitewater on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

In the loss to Cornell, the Pioneers were out hit by a .236 to .170 margin in favor of the Rams. Taylor Dicus led the Cornell attack with a match-high 15 kills and Kathleen O’Connor enjoyed a double double with 12 kills and 11 digs; plus Katie Sickelka added 13 kills and hit .289 in the win.

The Pioneer attack was led by Samantha Rampart had a team-high 15 kills, Stephanie Kirchner and Briana Kaiser added 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Ali Sikic (pictured), who on Friday became the program’s all-time assist leader, added 46 more assists.

In the nightcap, in a rematch of the 2010 NCAA regional final, versus Carthage, the Pioneers recorded seven service aces and a balanced attack sparked UW-Platteville for the 25-20, 25-16, 25-23 win.

UW-Platteville led from start to finish including a 5-1 spurt to start the match in the first set. Samantha Rampart, Lee Ann Mizgalski and Stephanie Kirchner each had three kills and Sikic had 11 assists.

In the second set, the Pioneers scored 15 of the final 22 points for a 25-16 win. The UW-Platteville attack out hit Carthage .250 to .146 with Rampart and Briana Kaiser each had three kills, Sikic had 12 assists and Brooke Nichols sparked the attack with nine digs.

To close out the match, in the third set, the Pioneers trailed for most of the set before tying it at 18 when Emily Kaiser hammered down a kill and Rampart followed that up with a service ace by Rampart. Carthage came back to tie the set at 21 and 23, respectively to prompt a UW-Platteville timeout. Back-to-back kills by Briana Kaiser from Ali Sikic closed out the match for the Pioneers to seal the victory.

Also, Ali Sikic was also named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts in the two-day, four-match tournament.