SAINT PAUL, Minn. – The No. 13 UW-Stevens Point volleyball team (14-2) needed a strong finish and got one after dropping the first two sets in a 3-2 win at St. Catherine (10-4) on Wednesday.
Ashley Kopp (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) had yet another double-double with 20 kills and 23 digs.
Melanie Meyer (Bloomington, Minn./Thomas Jefferson) and
Sydney Mosinski (Nevada, Iowa/Nevada) also had double-figure kills with 13 and 12, respectively.
Emma Peterson (Bloomington, Minn./Thomas Jefferson) led all players with 25 digs.
Grace Michalske (Wausau, Wis./West) had a match-high 40 assists, more than double the Wildcats' leading assister.
Michalske and Mosinski combined on a block as the teams were tied at 8-8 in the first set. Mosinski and Kopp combined for six kills as UWSP crept ahead 16-13. The Pointers responded to a 5-0 run by SCU with a 4-0 burst to lead 22-21. A Meyer kill tied the set at 23-all and the Wildcats scored the final two points to take the first set.
Olivia Paukner (Prairie Du Sac, Wis./Sauk Prairie) capped a 5-1 run with a kill as UWSP got within 12-11 in the second set. Another Paukner kill sparked a 4-0 spurt as UWSP took a 17-16 lead. Kopp and Paukner had consecutive kills to give UWSP set point at 24-23. Again, the Wildcats scored the final points, three this time, to take a 26-24 win.
Mosinski and
Kelsie Belfiori (Merrill, Wis./Merrill) sandwiched a 4-0 start the third set with kills. Paukner again had a kill to spark a run by UWSP, this time a 6-1 run to go ahead 13-9. The Wildcats wouldn't go away, rallying to within one five times in the set. Meyer started the set-ending 5-1 run with a kill as UWSP took the third, 25-20.
Kopp had three early kills as the Pointers doubled up the Wildcats 12-6 in the fourth. Belfiori had one of her three aces amid a 5-0 run late as UWSP forced a fifth set with a 25-18 win.
After SCU got the opening point, Kopp and Meyer combined for six kills as UWSP seized control with a 7-2 lead. Mosinski added two kills late as UWSP hit .500 in the fifth set. Belfiori capped the big rally with two aces as UWSP prevailed in the fifth, 15-7.
The Pointers return home on Friday (Sept. 30) to face UW-Oshkosh. The league match begins at 7:00 p.m. at Berg Gym.