PLATTEVILLE, Wis. — Concluding their five-game home opening stand, the Pioneer volleyball team is now 3-2 as they go on the road for eight straight away games.

Consistency is a concern for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s volleyball team as they lost most recently to the Loras College Duhawks, 3-1.

Senior middle hitter Lauren Grady said because this was a nonconference game, the women would take it as a learning experience and move forward.

“We need to focus on better communication,” Grady said. “We need more confidence, especially behind the service line.”

Head coach Deb Schulman said after they won the second match, the passing declined and the Pioneers did not play well defensively.

Sophomore Allison Jensen led the offense with eight kills and 22 total attempts, while junior Lindsey Decker anchored the defense with 18 of the team’s 58 digs.

“We were playing very hard and we had a lot of momentum going into the third match,” Decker said. “Then I think we hesitated coming into the fourth after losing the third match.”

After dropping the first match 26-24, the Pioneers responded with their sole win, 25-16, and then fell in the third and fourth, 25-15 and 25-17.

The Duhawks earned their second win of the year, with their victory over the Pioneers on Wednesday, while the Pioneers followed their 3-1 win over Cornell with Wednesday’s loss.

On Thursday the women did not have a game, but according to Schulman they focused on their competitiveness and communication at practice.

“We just ran competitive drills and they responded,” Schulman said,

The women travel to the Loras College Tournament on Friday and Saturday to compete against four teams from the Tri-States.

Next week, after an away match with Carroll University, they enter the Wartburg Tournament for three games before returning to UW-Platteville, Sept. 23 for their first conference battle with UW-Stevens Point.

According to the NCAA website, the Pioneers face five top 25 teams this season, three of which are in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

“Our goal is to beat our rankings for the WIAC and right now we are seven out of eight,” Grady said.

Even with such a prolific conference, Schulman said she would like to see her team finish near the top of the WIAC by the end of the season.

-Written by Jeremy Williamson – [email protected] – ‘Like’ uwpexponent on Facebook – Follow us on Twitter @uwpexponent