Pioneers Five-Match Winning Streak Snapped at 2012 Cornell Classic

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Pioneers Five-Match Winning Streak Snapped at 2012 Cornell Classic
September 14, 2012

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball saw its five-match winning streak snapped on Friday with a pair of losses at the 2012 Cornell Classic to St. Olaf in five (20-25, 21-25, 25-9, 25-19, 15-13) and Augsburg in four (16-25, 25-22, 14-25, 23-25) in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

The Pioneers (7-3) out hit St. Olaf by a .201 to .145 margin as senior Danielle Cushley had a season-high 27 kills to pace the attack. Freshman Katie O'Malley had 55 assists and junior Stephanie Kirchner had her third double double of the season with 12 kills and 13 digs in the loss.

In the fifth and final set, UW-Platteville found itself behind an early 7-2 margin to the Oles. The Pioneers gradually cut into the lead and eventually tied it at 13 when Cushley hammered down her 27th kill of the match. However, St. Olaf scored the final two points of the set to clinch the match on a kill by Maggie Prunty and an attack error by the Pioneers.

In the second match of the day, Augsburg outhit the Pioneers by a .278 to .132 margin. Cushley for the second-straight match led the Pioneers with 14 kills to pace the attack.  Augsburg was led by the play of Colleen Ourada, who had 18 kills and six blocks in the win.

Augsburg led from start to finish in the first set; however, in the second set the Pioneers rallied from an early 6-2 deficit to take an 8-7 lead. After gaining the lead, UW-Platteville failed to trail for the remainder of the set to even the match at a set apiece.

In the third set, Augsburg raced out to an early 7-1 lead and never looked back en route to the 25-14 victory. Ourada had nine of her 18 kills in the set to lead the Auggies.

In the final set, the two teams went back and forth including a tie at 18. After the tie, Augsburg went on a 6-0 run before the Pioneers withstood three set and match points to cut the deficit 24-21. Then, Ourada closed out the match with a kill to clinch the victory.

The Pioneers will close out the weekend with two more matches at the 2012 Cornell Classic with an 11 a.m. tilt against Bethel and a 3 p.m. contest against host Cornell.