PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (18-8) fell behind entering the fourth set but rallied to win in five over Cornell College (14-9) on Wednesday night inside Williams Fieldhouse.
The Pioneers won the opening set 25-17 after pulling away with a five-point run midway through the set that featured kills from freshman
Lauren Abbott and senior
Bria Johnston. Cornell responded by winning the next two sets, pulling away late each time to take set two 25-22 and set three 25-23.
The Rams led for much of set four until UW-Platteville erased an 18-15 deficit by scoring seven consecutive points. Johnston had three services aces on the run, while Abbott and junior
Brooklyn Radecke added kills. Senior
Kennedy Wenger closed out the set with a kill at 25-21, and the match headed to a decisive fifth set.
UW-Platteville jumped in front quickly, leading 6-1 behind two kills from Radecke and one from each of Wenger and Johnston. Cornell trimmed the lead to one later in the set at 13-12 but kills by Abbott and Radecke clinched the five-set win for the Pioneers.
Four players reached double-digit kills for UW-Platteville, led by 21 from Johnston which matched her career-high. Abbott added a career-high 16 kills on a team-best .387 hitting percentage, while Radecke (14) and Wenger (13) contributed with strong showings as well. In total, the Pioneers had 73 kills in the match, a new season high.
Radecke (17 digs) and Johnston (11 digs) posted double-doubles, as five players had double-digit digs. Sophomore
Delali Amankwa matched Radecke with a team-high 17, while junior
Kennedey Barber finished with 16. Amankwa also recorded a team-high 29 assists, while junior
Laura Boberg tallied 18 assists and 10 digs.
The Pioneers wrap up the regular season on Friday with Senior Night at 7 p.m. against UW-La Crosse.
