in the 2005 NCAA playoff win over St. Norbert
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| Rachel Chapman splits the defenders in the 2005 NCAA playoff win over St. Norbert |
The UW-Platteville volleyball team not only played its way into the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship match but also into the NCAA III national championships.
The Pioneers learned Monday morning they will be making the fifth NCAA III appearance in tournament history. The 24-12 Pioneers will face 31-5 UW-Oshkosh Thursday at Carthage College in Kenosha at a time to be announced.
UWP, the seventh seed in the WIAC playoffs, beat #2 UW-Oshkosh 23-30, 30-25, 30-26, 30-25 last Tuesday, then went on to beat #3 UW-Eau Claire 3-1 Friday before falling to top-seeded UW-Whitewater 3-1 Saturday.
"It's incredible that we were the seventh seed in the conference, reached the championship game and now earned a tournament berth," 20th-year Coach Deb Schulman said. "It shows all the hard work paid off."
The Pioneers are in an eight-team bracket that includes Wash. U. (27-5) vs. Hanover, Ind. (23-10), UW-La Crosse (24-9) vs. Calvin (29-4), and Carroll (20-13) vs. Carthage (31-4). UWP earned one of the 19 at-large berths given in the 64-team field. UW-Eau Claire also earned an at-large bid, and UW-Whitewater is the league's automatic qualifier.
The 2007 squad joins the teams from 1983, 1992, 1997 and 2005 as national playoff participants. UWP faced UW-Oshkosh in the 1997 playoffs in Whitewater and lost a five-match thriller to the Titans.
"It will be a great experience for a young team, and it allows our two seniors (Kelly Laschinger and Lynn Schreiner) to enjoy their seasons a little longer," Schulman said.
UW-Oshkosh beat the Pioneers 3-0 twice during the regular season before UW-Platteville turned the tables last week.
"You hate to have to play a team four times in a season, but they're fresh in our minds and hopefully we can follow the same game plan," Schulman said.
| UWP NCAA III Playoff History |
|---|
| 1983 |
| UW-La Crosse def. UW-Platteville 17-7, 15-2, 15-5 |
| 1992 (at UW-Platteville) |
| UW-Platteville def. St. Benedict's 15-5, 15-12, 11-15, 15-11 |
| St. Thomas def. UW-Platteville 15-11, 8-15, 15-9, 9-15, 23-21 |
| 1997 (at UW-Whitewater) |
| UW-Oshkosh def. UW-Platteville 15-11, 10-15, 14-16, 15-6, 15-13 |
| 2005 (at UW-Oshkosh) |
| UW-Platteville def. St. Norbert 30-19, 30-23, 30-17 |
| UW-Whitewater def. UW-Platteville 30-26, 30-26, 30-21 |
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