Pioneers Win Pair Of Home Matches Saturday

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (13-3) hosted a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon, picking up wins over Carroll (Wis.) (8-8) and Macalester (6-8). The Pioneers swept Carroll in the morning before winning 3-1 over the Scots later in the afternoon.

In the first match against Carroll, the Pioneers cruised to a 25-8 set one victory, highlighted by an early 11-1 run. UW-Platteville posted a .385 hitting percentage in that opening set, compared to a mark of -.174 for the visitors. Carroll trailed 12-3 early in the second set but battled back and cut the deficit down to two at 21-19. UW-Platteville held off the rally and moved in front 2-0 with a 25-21 set two win. Carroll threatened to take the third set with a 24-21 lead late, but the home team got three straight kills by junior Emma Carlson and an ace from senior Shea Lauria to win 26-24 and secure the sweep.

For the match, UW-Platteville finished with 40 kills and a .228 hitting percentage. Carlson led the team with 15 kills while hitting an impressive .500, while junior Madelyn Cooley added 10 kills on a .429 percentage. The team finished with nine service aces and 14 block assists in the win.

Against Macalester, the Pioneers closed the first set with a 13-2 run to win 25-11. Seventeen of UW-Platteville's points came from kills in the set, and the team recorded a .448 hitting percentage. The Pioneers pulled away in the second set as well, scoring 10 unanswered en route to winning 25-13. The two teams went back-and-forth throughout the third set, but the Scots won 25-23 to send the match to a fourth set. The Pioneers pulled away late in the fifth set for a 25-20 win to collect the team's second win of the day.

Carlson posted 18 kills to lead the team, while senior Claudia Johnson and sophomore Kierney McDonald each finished with nine. UW-Platteville totaled 57 kills as a team in the match and hit .328 on 119 attempts. Carlson also led the team with 13 digs and six service aces, as the Pioneers finished with 16 service aces as team. Sophomore Kelsey Ewert added five service aces.

The Pioneers return to action on Friday night for a WIAC matchup when they host UW-River Falls for the annual Yell Night at 7 p.m.