Volleyball goes 2-1 at Mable Lee Invite

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Volleyball team lost 3-1 to St. Olaf on Friday before bouncing back with 3-0 sweeps over Ripon and Coe on Saturday at the Kohawk Arena.

The Pioneers improve to 11-3 on the season.

St. Olaf took the first two sets 25-19, 25-13 and Pioneers bounced back and challenged the Oles in sets three and four. The Pioneers took set three 27-25 and dropped the fourth set 25-27.

Junior Hailey Youngren and sophomore Lita Solbrig each had seven kills while freshman Stephanie Kalinowski led with 23 digs. Sophomore Kaite Asche led the team with three aces and added five blocks.

The Pioneers returned Saturday with a convincing 25-9, 25-23, 25-16 win over Ripon. The Pioneers hit .320 as a team and had nine blocks to take care of the Red Hawks. 

Sophomore Olivia Kudronowicz led the way against the Red Hawks with an efficient 10 kills on just 16 attempts (.625 hitting percentage). Kudronowicz also led the team with 18 digs and three service aces. Youngren and Asche each finished with 11 kills and hitting percentages of .240 and .417 respectively. Asche also had five blocks and three service aces.

In the final match of the weekend the Pioneers swept the host Coe 25-22, 25-16, 25-22. The Pioneers hit .173 as a team and had nine service aces to Coe's two aces.

Kudronowicz finished with 13 kills and hit .242 to lead the offense. Youngren chipped in seven kills and had a .200 hitting percentage. Asche and freshman Sam Rossetti each had four blocks to led the defense on the net. Kalinowski had four aces and no errors from behind the service line.

The Pioneers host UW Oshkosh at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, September 25 for Childhood Cancer Awareness night on Bo Ryan Court.