LA CROSSE, Wis. – The No. 17 UW-Stevens Point volleyball team (23-6) knocked off Wartburg (15-9) in four sets in La Crosse to wrap up the regular season. The Pointers, by virtue of the UW-River Falls win over UW-Platteville, secured the three-seed in the WIAC Tournament and will host UWRF in the first round of the WIAC Tournament on Tuesday.
Olivia Paukner (Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) led all players with a season-high 14 kills. She also had a match-high five blocks.
Sydney Mosinski (Nevada, Iowa/Nevada) added 12 kills and four blocks.
Ashley Kopp (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) posted her 22nd double-double of the season with 10 kills and 14 digs.
Emma Peterson (Bloomington, Minn./Thomas Jefferson) led the Pointers with 18 digs.
Grace Michalske (Wausau, Wis./West) doubled up the Wartburg leader with 40 assists in the match. She had seven digs and tied
Kelsie Belfiori (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) for the team lead with three aces.
Paukner had four kills out of the gate as UWSP led 12-11 part way through the first set. Mosinski and Kopp combined for five kills and Belfiori served up three aces as UWSP won the first 25-15 with a 9-1 run.
Paukner and Michalske combined on two blocks as UWSP went ahead 5-2 early in the second. Kopp had two kills and combined with Paukner on a block in a 6-1 spurt as UWSP pushed the lead to 17-12.
Megan Schroder (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) had two aces and a kill late as UWSP took set two, 25-18.
Paukner had five early kills in the third set and UWSP was ahead 14-10. A
Melanie Meyer (Bloomington, Minn./Thomas Jefferson) kill gave UWSP a 20-15 lead, but the Knights closed the set on a 10-2 run to force a fourth set, 25-22.
Mosinski and Schroder each had a kill and combined on a block to put the Pointers up 10-6. With eh fourth set tied, 16-all, Paukner and
Katie Larson (Hammond, Wis./St. Croix Central) had consecutive kills to spark an 8-0 run to give UWSP match point. Larson secured the 25-18 victory with a match-ending kill.
The Pointers host UW-River Falls on Tuesday (Nov. 1) in the first round of the WIAC Tournament. First serve at Berg Gym is slated for 7:00 p.m.