Volleyball Splits First Two Games of 2013 Season
UW-Platteville volleyball team swept Blackburn, 3-0, in its first match at the Washington University Tournament, and then errors were the demise of the Pioneers against seventh-ranked Washington U. falling 3-0 in Saturday’s nightcap.
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team swept Blackburn, 3-0, in its first match at the Washington University Tournament, and then errors were the demise of the Pioneers against seventh-ranked Washington U. falling 3-0 in Saturday's nightcap.
The Pioneers were in complete control against Blackburn, dominating the Beavers 25-15, 25-14, 25-12.
Senior Stephanie Kirchner was near perfect as she recorded nine kills on 12 attacks with no errors, while tallying a team-high five blocks. Junior LeeAnn Mizgalski led UW-Platteville with 10 kills and added two blocks and three digs. Newcomer Jennifer Schmidt registered nine kills and two blocks. Sophomore Katie O'Malley recorded 23 assists and junior Haley Jansen led the defensive specialist with 11 digs.
The victory over Blackburn gave head coach Deb Schulman her 599th career victory.
UW-Platteville couldn't get its offense going against the Bears dropping the three sets 25-12, 25-15, 25-22. In the first set the Pioneers only recorded one kill while accumulating six attack errors but things got a little better as the night went on for the Pioneers. In set-two UW-Platteville tallied eight kills and errors and finally recorded more kills than errors in the final set with 10 kills and six errors.
Schmidt led the team with nine kills, while Kirchner totaled two solo blocks and four block assists. The highlight of the night for UW-Platteville was that the Pioneers out blocked the nationally ranked Bears 14-11.
The Pioneers finish their weekend trip against Cornell College at 10 a.m. then versus Iowa Wesleyan at 1 p.m. on Sunday.