The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team lost its first five-set decision of the season at UW-Platteville on Wednesday (Oct. 22).

The Pioneers (13-14, 3-3 WIAC) defeated the Titans (24-4, 3-3 WIAC) in set scores of 19-25, 25-20, 25-14, 21-25, 15-12.

UW-Oshkosh, which went into the contest with a 5-0 record in five-set matches this season, is in a four-way tie for third place in the WIAC standings with two conference matches to play.

The Pioneers outhit the Titans, .275 to .157, including .625 to .094 in the third set. UW-Platteville hit for a higher percentage in every set but the fourth.

UW-Platteville held advantages in kills (62-55), assists (60-49), service aces (6-5), digs (59-57) and blocks (10-8).

Katelyn Malcheski led UW-Oshkosh with a match-best 17 kills. Laura Trochinski added 13 kills while Lexi Thiel and Mandy Trautmann had match highs with 41 assists and 31 digs, respectively. Danielle Stoppenbach registered six digs to give her 905 for her career.

UW-Oshkosh began the match with a 3-0 lead and never trailed in the opening set. The Titans went on a four-point run for a 19-13 lead that UW-Platteville never threatened.

The Titans raced out to a 5-0 lead in Set 2, but the Pioneers answered with a five-point run of their own. The Pioneers took their first lead of the match at 11-10 after a four-point run. UW-Oshkosh never regained the lead, and UW-Platteville scored seven of the last 10 points, including the last two on attack errors, to even the match.

Trailing 2-0 in the third set, UW-Platteville scored six in a row before building its lead to 10-4. UW-Oshkosh closed to within 12-9, but a four-point run extended the Pioneers' lead to 16-9 and the Titans never got closer than six points the rest of the set.

Leading 9-8 in Set 4, UW-Oshkosh tallied seven of the next eight points. A three-point run by UW-Platteville cut the Titans' lead to 16-12, but UW-Oshkosh stretched its lead to 20-12 on consecutive kills by Nerissa Vogt and Trochinski. UW-Platteville scored seven of the next eight points to close within 23-21, but a Pioneer attack error and Malcheski kill thwarted the comeback.

UW-Platteville took a 3-1 lead in Set 5 and led until the Titans tied the score at 8. After ties and 9 and 10, the Pioneers scored two straight points for a 12-10 lead. UW-Oshkosh's Hayley Rickmeier registered a kill on the next point, but UW-Platteville recorded the next two on a kill and a Titan attack error. A Pioneer service error erased one match point before UW-Platteville's Lidia Frias ended the match with a kill.

Frias led the Pioneers with 14 kills on .429 hitting and a match-high seven blocks. Jennifer Schmidt added 13 kills and 11 digs, while Merritt Johnson had 12 kills on 21 attempts.

The Titans return home this weekend to host the UW-Oshkosh Invitational in Kolf Sports Center. UW-Oshkosh plays Webster University (Mo.) and Carthage College on Friday (Oct. 24) and Iowa schools Wartburg College and Loras College on Saturday (Oct. 25).