UW-Platteville Volleyball Loses to Ashford University

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team dropped a 25-20, 25-18, 25-23 decision to host Ashford University on Tuesday night.

The Pioneers (10-6) were held to a .140 hitting percentage in the loss. Danielle Cushley and LeeAnn Mizgalski had 12 and 11 kills, respectively to lead UW-Platteville.

Ashford (14-7) posted a .196 hitting percentage, including a match-high 13 kills from Morgan Martells in the win.

To start the match, Ashford jumped out to a 7-1 advantage and lead for the remainder of the first set. The Pioneers would get as close as 14-11 but the host Saints answered with three-straight points to end the spurt by UW-Platteville.

In the second set, the Pioneers would build an early 10-7 lead; however, Ashford went on a 6-0 run on the service game of Cailin Foran. In the run, they took advantage of three Pioneer attack errors and a balanced hitting attack by the Saints' Sarah Garvick, Danielle Rzewnicki and Chelsea King.

In the final set, the two teams went back and forth to start the set. After a tie at 4, the Pioneers went up by as much as 19-12; however, Ashford mounted a comeback. The home team cut the deficit to three, 19-16 on another strong service performance by Foran. Following a Pioneer timeout, the Saints scored nine of the next 12 points to clinch the win.

The Pioneers will look to bounce back when they travel to Dubuque on Friday, Sept. 28 when they will face Dubuque and Loras at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. on the University of Dubuque campus.