Photograph by Karmen Mallow
Sophomore Briana Kaiser slams the ball against the Kohawks. The Pioneers defeated Coe in 3 sets.

The home opener for the UW-Platteville volleyball team saw the Pioneers sweep Coe College in 3 sets, 25-23, 25-19 and 25-17 on the newly renovated Bo Ryan Court.

As part of a triangular, UW-P also faced Carthage College, ranked fifth nationally.  The team battled it out with Carthage in the last set by putting pressure on the Red’s offense, but fell short. The Pioneers fell in a 0-3 loss with the matches concluding 23-25, 24-26 and 19-25.

The Pioneer volleyball team returned from the Emory Tournament in Atlanta, Ga. early last week and came back to practice this week to focus on both team and individual fundamentals, Head Coach Deb Schulman said.

The team centered its practices on building stronger hitter-setter connections, passing and blocking to prepare them for the tough competition Friday night, Schulman said. Practices were also broken down into middle hitters, outside hitters and defensive specialists to improve on individual skills.

“This past week we really broke things down and wanted to improve in all areas.  We stressed passing as well as hitter-setter connections,” junior Abby Carey said.

After the first match against the Kohawks, coach Deb Schulman said the work during practice played out well in the 3-0 shutout, but the team still had its difficulties.  The key to the win over Coe was taking out the Kohawks offense with the Pioneer’s aggressive serving and good blocking.

Freshman outside hitter Melanie Bailiff led the Pioneers with 24 digs for the night while freshman Samantha Rampart led the team with 26 assists against Carthage.

“Our team is young this year and our freshmen bring in a lot of talent.  We’re excited to see where they go,” Kayla Smith, junior, said.

After the triangular Friday night, the UW-P volleyball team sits at a 3-4 record. The Pioneers will travel next to UW-Eau Claire Sept. 18.