The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women’s volleyball team defeated University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in four sets Oct. 9 at the annual “Dig for the Cure” event.
The night began with the Pioneers taking the court sporting pink jerseys. The team’s overall goal for the night, aside from a match victory, was raising both money and awareness for breast cancer.
The first set was a success for UW-Platteville with powerful serves from freshman Katie O’Malley and an overall strong comeback after struggling early in the set to convert blocks. After aggressive kills, sophomore Leann Mizgalski built a large lead; UW-Whitewater called its first timeout of the night. Pioneers senior Danielle Cushley converted the kill to finish off the first set 25-12.
The second set began with impressive digs by Pioneer sophomore Andrea Larsen, giving the Pioneers an early lead. However, after powerful attacks from the Warhawks, the score then tied up 7-7.
Mizgalski subsequently subbed in at the front row to obtain a kill shot. The set was close throughout, but Cushley again blocked a Warhawk tip for the win, 25-21.
UW-Whitewater rebounded, winning the hard-fought third set 25-20. UW-Platteville struggled to keep their blocks in play, giving up four points in that fashion. It was the middle of the third set that proved to be challenging for UW-Platteville’s back row as the team failed to return UW-Whitewater’s many hard attacks.
Set four was another hard-fought battle, and the score was tied up at three separate times. Both teams fired off intense spikes and digs, but the Pioneers prevailed and came back to win the set 25-21.
“Tonight was amazing, a total team effort,” Pioneers head coach Deb Schulman said. “I knew we would have to play our best. Every match is a battle, especially when you are playing against a team ranked in the top 25.”
The players had a similar take on the game.
“We really played well as a team,” sophomore libero Haley Jansen said.
“We are a lot better of a team than what most give us credit for,” said junior Stephanie Kirchner.
