Badgers Roar Past Panthers in NCAA Tournament
November 30, 2001 | Volleyball
The sixth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team began its quest for a return trip to the NCAA Championship game with a sweep of UW-Milwaukee 30-19, 30-15, 30-27 in first-round tournament action. The Badgers used a solid all-around effort to improve to 26-3, while the Panthers end the year 20-8. Wisconsin will face Michigan State, who defeated Notre Dame in four games, Saturday night at 7 pm. at the UW Field House.
'Once we settle down to our normal rhythm, I thought we played real well,' Wisconsin coach Pete Waite said. 'In the third game, Milwaukee started playing a lot better, passing better. They got some good swings at the ball and obviously we got down a little bit, but I was very glad that we took the time out and had a substitution, came back and moved ahead to finish it off.'
The Wisconsin offense outhit UWM .322 percent to .103 percent for the match and tallied 11 aces as the Panthers struggled with their passing game. UW-Milwaukee was unable to get a consistent block against the much quicker and larger Badger frontline, allowing the UW to put away 55 kills, while managing only one block.
Erin Byrd led Wisconsin with a match-high 16 kills and .536 hitting percentage. The junior outside hitter also added eight digs and three service aces. Sherisa Livingston chipped in with 13 kills while Amy Hultgren had nine kills and a match-high four blocks.
Lori Rittenhouse had 10 of the team's 48 digs on the night to lead the team. Sara Urbanek and Jill Odenthal dug eight and seven balls, respectively. Lizzy Fitzgerald paced the attack with 41 assists.
The Panthers were led by Tari Boutin with eight kills. Laura Dallenbach and Robin Alt had eight digs apiece.
Byrd got the UW flying in Game 1 with four early kills to put the Badgers up 16-7. Wisconsin extended its lead to as many as 11 with a tough service game that kept the Panthers offense scrambling and gave the Badgers an easy win in Game 1. Byrd finished with seven kills and no errors, while Livingston added six kills.
As UWM continued to focus on Livingston, Byrd kept taking advantage. Byrd's third kill of the second game put the Badgers up 17-10. The Panthers were unable to cut into the lead as Wisconsin continued to be the aggressor. The Badgers hit .429 percent for the game while holding the Panthers to .073 percent, taking a 2-0 lead into the locker room.
In Game 3, UWM was able to quiet the crowd of 5,115 by taking its largest lead of the match at 19-14 to force a Wisconsin timeout. The Badgers responded with a 5-0 run, capped by a Hultgren kill, to tie the game at 19. Wisconsin slowly pulled away as Hultgren had a pair of key kills late to complete the sweep and send the Badgers into the second round.
Wisconsin faces Michigan State for the third time this season tomorrow night. The Badgers beat the Spartans twice during the Big Ten season
'Playing them doesn't scare us in any way, ' Waite said of the Spartans. 'We are familiar with them, we know that they got some great players, but also it's something that motivates us, to play another team in the Big Ten. I think it's going to be a great match.'
