MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (17-3) split a pair of matches on Saturday afternoon inside Si Melby Hall at Augsburg University. The Pioneers swept Augsburg (8-10) to begin the day before falling in five sets to St. Catherine (12-7) to wrap up the weekend.
Match One Highlights
The Pioneers took the first two sets against Augsburg by the same scores of 25-19. UW-Platteville's offensive attack produced 32 total kills across those two sets, while posting hitting percentages over .300 in each. The third set featured several multi-points runs for both teams and it went to extra points after sitting tied at 25. Freshman Brooklyn Radecke and junior Kierney McDonald secured the sweep by picking up back-to-back kills to help the Pioneers win 27-25.
Three Pioneers reached double digits in kills, led by Radecke's 17 and McDonald's 15. Senior Emma Carlson joined the duo in double figures with 11 kills and added 10 digs to record the double-double. As a team, UW-Platteville finished with 54 kills on a .314 hitting percentage, with Radecke contributing a .419 hitting percentage across her 31 attempts.
Junior Gracie Gibbens led the team with 43 assists, while junior Bri Gartner had a team-high 15 digs.
Match Two Highlights
In the second match, St. Catherine overcame a five-point deficit with eight unanswered points to claim the first set 25-20. The Pioneers responded by taking the second set 26-24 after Radecke broke a 24-24 tie with a pair of kills. UW-Platteville started the third set strong and carried that momentum throughout for a 25-15 win to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Wildcats held off a late Pioneers rally in the fourth set to force a fifth set with a 25-21 win. St. Catherine then picked up the five-set win behind a 15-10 win the final set.
Carlson had a team-high 19 kills, while Radecke (16) and McDonald (13) also reached double figures. UW-Platteville finished with 62 kills as a team on a .191 hitting percentage.
Gibbens had another 41 assists across the five sets, while Gartner had a team-high 27 digs. Carlson added 20 digs, while sophomore Grace Betke finished with 16 digs.
Up Next
The Pioneers return home for a Wednesday night match at 7 p.m. against Loras.
*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.
