Pioneers Upset No. 17 Pointers in Five-Set Thriller

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (19-5, 4-1 WIAC) won a five-set thriller against UW-Stevens Point (18-5, 3-2 WIAC) on Friday night inside Berg Gym. 

The Pioneers took an early 10-2 lead in the opening set, but the Pointers, ranked No. 17 in the most recent AVCA Top 25 Poll, worked to close in 24-22. An attacking error by the Pointers gave the Pioneers the 25-22 victory and 1-0 match lead. In the following set, junior Emma Carlson's kill tied the set 25-25, but subsequent attacking errors tied the match 1-1 with UW-Stevens Point winning 28-26. 

In the third set, the Pointers pulled ahead to a 20-10 lead behind an 8-0 run, but UW-Platteville used a 12-3 run of their own to close in within one point, 23-22. The teams exchanged points, but the Pointers advanced with a 25-23 win to take a 2-1 match lead. 

UW-Platteville led for the entire fourth set and tied the match with an electric 26-24 win behind back-to-back kills by Carlson. The final set saw three tied scores early on, but after an 8-8 tie, a UW-Stevens Point service error drew momentum to the Pioneers. A kill by senior Claudia Johnson followed up by an ace from freshman Jacquelyn Gladstein gave the Pioneers an 11-8 advantage. An attacking error and then two kills by Carlson sent the night to match point with the Pioneers holding on to a 14-11 lead. The Pointers grabbed one more point before junior Madelyn Cooley finished the set and match 15-12 with sophomore Gracie Gibbens on the assist. 

Carlson tied for a match-high 24 kills while Johnson (13) and Cooley (11) each finished with a .364 hitting percentage.  

Senior Sam Rossetti totaled 30 assists. Senior Shea Lauria paced the Pioneers with 18 digs while sophomore Bri Gartner (14) and Carlson (12) also reached double digits. 

The Pioneers totaled 14 blocks as a team with Johnson recording five block assists while Cooley registered four block assists. Sophomore Kierney McDonald added three solo blocks and two block assists. 

The Pioneers stay in Stevens Point and take on Cornell College on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 11 a.m.

*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.