MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville volleyball team (3-2) defeated Millikin University (3-3) in four sets Friday night, on the first day of the Wisconsin Lutheran Tournament.
In the first set, seven-straight points, including three kills by junior
Brooklyn Radecke, placed the Pioneers ahead 9-1. The teams exchanged points until another six-point run, featuring four kills, extended the Pioneers' lead to 11 points. A kill by junior
Abby Bauer brought on set-point, and an attack error by Millikin secured a 25-16 win.
Tied at 10 in the second set, UW-Platteville strung together four straight including an ace by sophomore
Delali Amankwa and a kill by freshman
Lauren Abbott. The Big Blue took the lead once thereafter, but three-straight kills by Radecke pushed the Pioneers' advantage to 20-17. The two teams exchanged points, but a kill by senior
Bria Johnston and another by Bauer captured a 25-23 win.
The third set got off to a rocky start for the Pioneers as Millikin took the first seven points. UW-Platteville strung together a couple of small runs, but the deficit was too much and Millikin took the set 25-20.
In the final set, three straight kills by Radecke, Bauer, and Johnston gave the Pioneers a 9-6 advantage. UW-Platteville held on to the lead by a couple of points until the Big Blue narrowed the differential to 20-19. Junior
Addison Albrecht put away a timely kill and an attack error by Millikin extended the Pioneers' advantage to 22-19. The Big Blue added one more point before back-to-back kills by Radecke and another by Albrecht closed out the 25-20 set and captured the night's victory.
Radecke finished with a match-high 15 kills while Bauer (9), Johnston (8), Abbott (8) had a strong nights as well. Abbott closed out the match with two solo blocks and a block assist.
Amankwa registered a match-high 31 assists and Johnston had a team-best 19 digs.
Overall, the Pioneers finished the night with a .155 hitting percentage while holding the Millikin to .094.
The Pioneers will return to the tournament Saturday morning when they take on Rose-Hulman at 10 a.m. and Wisconsin Lutheran at noon.
