PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Carroll University women's volleyball battled in a challenging road environment Wednesday night, pushing UW-Platteville, which is receiving votes in the national poll, to five sets inside Williams Fieldhouse. The Pioneers claimed the opening set and rallied to force a decisive fifth before falling 3-2.
Carroll came out strong in the opening set, jumping ahead 8-4 before extending their advantage to 17-11. Carroll continued to apply pressure, building a 20-12 lead before closing out the set 25-15. Carroll held UW-Platteville to a -.067 hitting percentage in the frame while hitting .320 themselves.
UW-Platteville responded in the second set, opening with an 11-2 advantage. Carroll attempted to battle back, but the home team maintained control to take the set 25-16. The Pioneers faced another early deficit in the third set as UW-Platteville built a 17-6 lead. Carroll continued fighting, scoring six of the final eight points before the hosts secured a 25-15 victory and a 2-1 match advantage.
Carroll showed its resilience in the fourth set. Trailing 20-16 late in the frame, the Pioneers fought back to pull within one at 22-21. After UW-Platteville reached match point at 24-23, Kylie Wittnebel delivered a kill to even the score at 24. Carroll followed with two more points, capped off by an Audrey Rosenbaum kill, to steal the set 26-24 and force a deciding fifth.
UW-Platteville opened the fifth set with an 8-2 advantage, forcing Carroll to play from behind. The Pioneers continued to battle, cutting the deficit to 14-10 following an Emily Jones service ace, but the hosts secured the final point to take the set 15-10 and claim the match.
Carroll finished the night with 43 kills on a .203 hitting percentage, adding 41 assists, six service aces, 52 digs and six blocks. The Pioneers were particularly efficient in the fourth set, recording 15 kills while hitting .344.
Rosenbaum led the Pioneer attack with 14 kills on a .275 hitting percentage while adding eight digs and two service aces. Lexi Proctor recorded another triple-double with 10 kills, 21 assists and 10 digs, while also contributing three block assists. Wittnebel added six kills and a team-high five block assists, while Carly Hicklin finished with six kills. Ashley Miller contributed 15 assists and two service aces.
The Pioneers now turn their attention to a busy weekend in Decatur, Illinois, where they will compete in three matches. Carroll opens the weekend on Friday, October 9, with a CCIW matchup against Millikin University at 7 p.m.
