Pioneers Sweep Edgewood, Advance in NCAA Championship

WHITEWATER, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team is advancing to the Second Round of the NCAA Championships after sweeping Edgewood College on Thursday afternoon in Kris Russell Volleyball Arena. The Pioneers (26-6) defeated the Eagles (24-10) by scores of 25-18, 25-16 and 25-17. 

Edgewood came out of the gates hot and led all the way until the Pioneers knotted the first set 12-12. A monster kill by Kierney McDonald gave the Pioneers their first lead of the set, 15-14 and the team ran away to take set one 25-18. 

In the second set, the teams exchanged points all the way until 12-12, but a kill by sophomore Kelsey Drake followed by two service aces by junior Kelsey Ewert gave the Pioneers a 16-12 edge. McDonald had back-to-back kills to push UW-Platteville's lead to 22-15 and it was McDonald again with the final kill to secure a two-set lead for the Pioneers. 

UW-Platteville finished off the match with a strong start of their own in the third set, jumping out to a 9-3 lead behind a 6-0 run. The Eagles fought back to shrink the lead to 12-9, but the Pioneers put together an 8-0 run late in the set to reach a 23-14 lead. A kill by McDonald brought on the first match-point and a block by McDonald and junior Gracie Gibbens finished the set and the sweep.

The Pioneers accumulated nine total blocks as they held the Eagles to a .084 hitting percentage. UW-Platteville finished hitting .266. 

Leading the team with 15 kills, McDonald was also had a piece in five blocks. Drake tallied one solo block and three block assists. 

Senior Emma Carlson paced the Pioneers with 19 digs and dished out 14 kills for a double-double, while also tallying three block assists. Also in double-digits was Gibbens with a match-high 33 assists. 

The Pioneers will take on WashU on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. in Whitewater. The Bears also swept their First Round opponent, the College of Saint Benedict, to advance to the second round. 

*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.