Pioneers Win Two More Saturday

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (7-0) remained undefeated by picking up two more wins on Saturday afternoon at the Coe College Tournament in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Pioneers beat Concordia Moorhead (0-4) 3-0 to start the day before taking down Concordia Wisconsin (3-3) by a score of 3-1 to conclude the weekend.

Match One Highlights

The Pioneers pulled away early behind a six-point run in the opening set against Concordia Moorhead. Two kills by freshman Abby Bauer and another by sophomore Kennedy Wenger closed off the set 25-11 in favor of UW-Platteville. That momentum carried over into the second set, as the Pioneers took a commanding 15-2 lead before ultimately taking the set 25-7.

Another run in the early stages of the third set put UW-Platteville in front by four and the two teams went back and forth for a while. The Pioneers wrapped up their sixth straight sweep by scoring the final five points of the set to win 25-16.

Bauer led the team with 15 kills on 24 attempts for a .542 hitting percentage. UW-Platteville totaled 44 kills as a team in the match, while posting a new season-high for hitting percentage at .398.

Junior Gracie Gibbens (18) and freshman Laura Boberg (15) each reached double digits in assists. Junior Bri Gartner finished with a team leading 12 digs while sophomore Grace Betke added seven.

Match Two Highlights

UW-Platteville got out to a fast start in its second match of the day against Concordia Wisconsin. The Pioneers led throughout the first set and pulled away behind a six-point run to win 25-11. The Falcons kept things closer in the next set, and the score sat tied at 17 apiece midway through. The Pioneers scored three straight points to take the lead, and freshman Brooklyn Radecke later secured the 25-21 win with a kill.

Concordia Wisconsin took the third set after scoring the final five points to win 26-24. The Falcons became the first team this season to take a set from the Pioneers. UW-Platteville bounced back from an early deficit in the fourth set to claim the match in four by a score of 25-23. Junior Kierney McDonald and senior Emma Carlson finished off the match by collecting back-to-back kills.

Three Pioneers reached double-digit kills, led by Carlson's 17. McDonald added 13 kills of her own, while Radecke tallied 11. UW-Platteville matched a season-high with 54 total kills in the match, while posting a .185 hitting percentage.

Gibbens led the way with 40 assists, while collecting the double-double by finishing with 12 digs. Gartner had a team-high 23 digs, and Carlson also recorded the double-double by tallying 14 digs to go along with her 17 kills.

The Pioneers had 12 service aces in the match, with Betke posting four.

Up Next

UW-Platteville will return home for its 2024 home opener on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. against Dubuque.