MADISON, Wis. – Four reached double-digit kills as the University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (15-5) beat Edgewood (14-6) in four sets on Tuesday night inside the Todd Wehr Edgedome in Madison.
Senior
Kennedy Wenger finished with a match-high 12 kills, while senior
Bria Johnston and juniors
Brooklyn Radecke and
Abby Bauer joined her in double figures with 10 each. The Pioneers totaled 53 kills in the match on a .197 hitting percentage, compared to 41 kills on a .126 mark for the Eagles.
UW-Platteville also put together a dominant defensive effort at the net, recording a season-high 11 total blocks in the win. Wenger's eight block assists paced the team, and Johnston added five block assists.
Five Pioneers reached double-digit digs, with 17 from Radecke and 11 from Johnston earning them both double doubles. Junior
Kennedey Barber (15 digs), sophomore
Delali Amankwa (12), and junior
Ava Valentin (11) also joined them in double figures. Valentin tallied a team-high 21 assists, with Amankwa adding 19.
Edgewood maintained a slight edge throughout the opening set and held off several UW-Platteville rallies to claim a 25-20 win. The Pioneers responded by staking a five-point lead at 21-16 in set before a five-point Eagles run evened up the score. Freshman
Lauren Abbott closed out the 25-23 set for UW-Platteville with back-to-back kills to even up the match at one.
The Pioneers erased an early deficit to begin the third set with a six-point run highlighted by kills from Abbott and Radecke. Edgewood kept the score close until kills by Johnston and Bauer helped extend UW-Platteville's lead to five at 22-17. Johnston wrapped up the set with a kill, sending the match into set four.
The Eagles led in the early stages of the fourth set until a 5-1 run swung the Pioneers ahead 12-11. UW-Platteville continued to add to the lead and got back-to-back kills from Radecke that made it 18-14. Edgewood cut the deficit to two, but a five-point run and a game-winning block from Wenger and Johnston secured the 25-18 win for the Pioneers.
UW-Platteville returns home on Friday to continue conference play against No. 4 UW-Eau Claire. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside Williams Fieldhouse.
