Badger Volleyball Makes Statement Against Buckeyes
October 26, 2001 | Volleyball
The good news was that the fifth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team remained undefeated in Big Ten Conference play with a 30-24, 27-30, 30-22, 30-28 win over 10th-ranked Ohio State. The bad news was that the Badgers (17-2, 11-0) lost starting outside hitter Lisa Zukowski with a knee injury in the first game. The Buckeyes (17-2, 9-2) ended the Badgers' game-winning streak at 26.
'It was a night of a big win and a big loss,' Wisconsin Head Coach Pete Waite said. 'Zukowski was doing a great job [before the injury likely ended her season]. But for that to happen early in the match and for somebody like Jill Odenthal to come through and pretty much be the star of the game says a lot for the depth and character of the team to do this on the road against a very, very good team '
Freshman Jill Odenthal came off the bench for the injured Zukowski and had a career night. She recorded 16 kills on 30 attempts with only two errors for a .467 hitting percentage. Sherisa Livingston led the Badgers with 21 kills while Erin Byrd added 10.
The Buckeyes finished with a 72-65 advantage in kills and were led by Anne Botica and Stacey Gordon with 24 and 21 kills respectively. But the Badger block got on track in Game 3 to hold the Ohio State offense to a .287 hitting percentage. Wisconsin hit .322 percent and tallied 15 team blocks led by seven each from Livingston and Lori Rittenhouse.
The Badgers were outdug 52-44 for only the second time this season. Lizzy Fitzgerald had a match-high 13 digs and put up 44 assists running the Wisconsin offense.
The Badgers trailed 14-18 in Game 1 before outscoring the Buckeyes 7-1 to take at 21-19 lead. Livingston keyed the run with two blocks, including a solo, and a kill. Wisconsin was leading 23-21 when Zukowski went down at the net after recording a kill to put the UW up 24-21. Odenthal came in and put down five kills in six attempts to give Wisconsin the game.
In Game 2, the Badgers led 13-10 off a kill by Fitzgerald. The Buckeyes came back to tie it at 14 and the game continued to be close through a 25-25 tie. Two Ohio State service aces put the Buckeyes up 28-25. OSU served for game point at 29-26 but a Livingston kill held off the win for the Buckeyes until a Badger service error halted the UW's game-winning streak at 26.
The Badgers trailed 6-9 in Game 3 before rallying to outscore the Buckeyes 8-1 to take a 14-10 lead. Livingston had four kills in the rally to pace Wisconsin. Ohio State would cut the lead to two, 14-12, but behind its block Wisconsin regained its lead and slowly increased it to 28-19. The Badgers had six team blocks to take a two games to one lead.
The Badgers led 16-8 in Game 4 off a service ace but the Buckeyes came back to tie it at 20. A crucial replay at 26-26, in which the referee ruled that Wisconsin could have made a play on a ball but was not able to due to a television camera, came out in the Badgers' favor to put the UW up 27-26. A block by Amy Hultgren and Fitzgerald put Wisconsin up 28-26. A Buckeye kill cut it to 28-27 but OSU served into the net to give Wisconsin match point. OSU held off the UW once, but a kill by Odenthal put the game and the match away.
'I told them between games that we needed to get organized [with a new lineup in],' Waite said. 'Some of the players who had been on the court needed to step up and everybody needed to just be more focused with each other and they definitely did that. That's the sign of a great team, to overcome an obstacle like that on a night like this and still get the win.'
The Badgers look to continue their winning ways on Saturday at 13th-ranked Penn State.
