Pioneers Sweep Blue Devils To Cap Regular Season

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (21-7, 5-2 WIAC) concluded the regular season with a sweep over UW-Stout (17-7, 1-6 WIAC) on Friday night inside the Williams Fieldhouse.

The Blue Devils held a slim lead in the opening set, but the Pioneers rallied behind separate runs of five and four points to move in front 21-19. Sophomore Kierney McDonald ended the set with a kill to give the Pioneers a 25-22 win.

UW-Platteville cruised to a 25-6 set two victory, highlighted by an 11-0 start. The Pioneers posted a hitting percentage of .357 in the second set, with junior Emma Carlson tallying eight kills.

UW-Stout responded by pulling ahead by five in the third set, but UW-Platteville slowly brought the game back and clinched the sweep on a kill by Carlson at 25-23.

Carlson finished with a match-high 22 kills, hitting .450 with just four errors on 40 total attacks. McDonald and senior Claudia Johnson were second on the team with five kills. UW-Platteville totaled 39 kills in the match, hitting .237 in the process.

Senior Shea Lauria led the team with 15 digs, while Carlson and sophomore Bri Gartner each added eight. Two Pioneers reached double figures in assists, with senior Sam Rossetti leading the way with 16 and sophomore Gracie Gibbens posting 13.

UW-Platteville finished with three solo blocks and 14 block assists in the match, led by two solo blocks and two blocks assists by Johnson. McDonald tallied five block assists and senior Camryn Johnston pitched in with four block assists of her own.

The Pioneers will enter the 2023 WIAC Tournament as the third seed, and will host the sixth seed on Tuesday at 7 p.m.