Pioneers Tally Two More Sweeps Saturday

GRINNELL, Iowa – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (3-0) wrapped up a successful opening weekend by picking up two more sweeps on Saturday afternoon, this time against Westminster (Mo.) (0-4) and Bethel (Minn.) (1-1) at Central (Iowa) College in Grinnell, Iowa.

The pair of sweeps was also head coach Samantha Birkicht's 99th and 100th wins as a head coach at UW-Platteville. With the 3-0 victory over Bethel, Birkicht becomes just the second head coach in program history to reach 100 wins with Deb Schulman (28 seasons, 641 wins) being the first.

Match One Highlights

An 8-1 run had the Pioneers in front by seven in the opening set against Westminster, but the Blue Jays went on a run of their own to move in front 23-20. UW-Platteville responded by scoring the final five points of the set to win 25-23.

In the second set, the Pioneers turned a two-point lead into a ten-point advantage by scoring eight unanswered points. UW-Platteville clinched the set 25-15 and then held off a late Blue Jays rally in the third set to secure the sweep with a 25-22 win.

Senior Emma Carlson led the offensive attack with 19 kills and a .400 hitting percentage, while junior Kierney McDonald also reached double figures with 12 kills. As a team, the Pioneers totaled 53 kills in the sweep on a strong .293 hitting mark.

Junior Gracie Gibbens finished with a team-high 44 assists, while Carlson (14) and junior Bri Gartner (10) posted double-digit digs. UW-Platteville had four solo blocks in the win, with McDonald accounting for three.

Match Two Highlights

Both teams went back and forth in the first set against Bethel, but back-to-back kills by McDonald helped the Pioneers outlast the Royals for a 27-25 win. Bethel led early in the next set, but a 9-1 UW-Platteville run flipped the momentum. The Royals got back within two points at 20-18 until a kill from McDonald and three consecutive kills by Carlson handed the Pioneers a 25-19 set two win.

A seven-point run put UW-Platteville up eight in the early stages of the third set, and Bethel was unable to recover as the Pioneers earned their third sweep of the weekend with a 25-12 win.

Carlson increased her kill total from the first match of the day by finishing with 23 on a .408 hitting percentage against Bethel. McDonald also had a strong showing, tallying 15 kills on a .400 hitting mark, as the Pioneers finished with 54 kills and a .323 hitting percentage.

Gibbens assisted on 44 kills in the match, while Gartner led the team with 21 digs. Sophomore Grace Betke also reached double digits in digs with 11 and led the team with three service aces.

Up Next

The Pioneers will travel to Madison on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. match against Edgewood.

*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.