Wisconsin Volleyball Wipes Out Alabama A'M
December 06, 2002 | Volleyball
In their 2002 post-season debut Friday night, the 14th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers (23-8) knocked out the Alabama A&M Bulldogs (24-7) in three quick games, 30-17, 30-13, 30-15.
'I was really pleased with the way we played tonight. We had good, solid ball focus,' said UW head coach Pete Waite. 'I think Alabama was not quite able to keep up with the pace of the game we play. They brought up some good junctures, and we had a little trouble early. I think we settled into things and had a nice match.'
Offensively, the Bulldogs were no match for the Badgers hitting only .014 percent to the Badgers' .418 percent. Still, only one player in the match, UW 's Jill Odenthal broke into double digits for kills with 12 and hit .556 percent. Odenthal also put down a career-high five blocks. As a team the UW had seven blocks for the match.
'Tonight as you witnessed was a very bad match for us. This is probably the worst match we've had' commented Alabama A&M head coach Betty Austin. 'That's it in a nut shell; we just appeared as though we couldn't get a mental game. And because we could not get a mental game it affected us physically.'
The match was decided in an hour and ten minutes denying either team a chance to boost their stats. The match held low numbers all-around with no one player marking more that nine digs.
The Badgers hit the floor with eight services aces to the Bulldogs ' one, but hit the net with 11 service errors to A&M's four.
The Badgers beat their record for fewest points given up in a match by two. The previous number was 47 (17-15-15).
'But we have to give Wisconsin credit. They are not ranked No. 14 in the nation because they are the University of Wisconsin. They are ranked No. 14 because they worked for it,' states Austin.
Looking forward to tomorrow's match against Miami, Coach Waite seems confident and ready.
'They're a good team; they ball handle very well. They have some very athletic players. They do a nice job. I think it'll be a very good match.'
The Badgers take on the Hurricanes in the second round of the tournament Saturday at 7 p.m. in the UW Field House.
