Pioneers Get Past the Falcons

MEQUON, Wis. – The Carroll Pioneers picked up a non-conference victory over the Falcons on Saturday afternoon. Carroll collected a 16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-22 to improve to 16-3 and send the Falcons to 5-8.

The Falcons cruised in the first set on Saturday. The serve of junior Abby Proefrock (Grafton, Wis.) pushed the lead up to 7-1. A kill from junior Paige Stickney (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) elevated the lead to 21-11 before junior Mickenzi Benter (De Pere, Wis.) ended the set at 25-16 with a kill.

The Pioneers flipped the script and jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the second set and held a 16-6 lead. The Falcons continued to chip away at the lead and cut the lead to 24-23 with a service ace from Noelle Smith but Carroll clinched the set with a kill on the next play.

CUW once again built an early lead in the third set behind the serve of Abby Proefrock. Carroll used a 6-1 run to gain some separation late in the set and never looked back.

The fourth set saw Carroll once again build an early lead at 9-3 and grew the margin to 16-8. The Falcons did not fold and clawed back to 22-24 with a kill from junior Noelle Smith (Davenport, Iowa), but Carroll won the match on the next play.  

The Falcons boasted a balanced attack on Saturday with Paige Stickney, freshman Emily Cicero (Hanover Park, Ill.), Noelle Smith and sophomore Skylar Kumprey (New Berlin, Wis.) all securing 10 kills, with Mickenzi Benter with nine.

Sophomore Emily Dickmann (Grafton, Wis.) and freshman McKenna Oetzman (Reedsburg, Wis.) both had 18 assists and Brianna Lundt and Abby Proefrock led CUW with 17 digs. McKenna Oetzman had a double-double performance with 18 assists and 15 digs.

Paige Stickney led the match with six blocks.

The Falcons look to rebound on Tuesday against Lake Forest.