Badgers Fall to Illini, 3-0
November 05, 2004 | Volleyball
The Wisconsin volleyball team lost its first match in nearly a month as it fell to No. 25 Illinois (30-27, 30-20, 32-30) Friday night. The Badgers remain in fourth place in the Big Ten Conference at 10-4 and a 16-6 overall mark. The Fighting Illini improve to 16-6 overall and 8-5 in the league.
'I don't think we played very well tonight, ' Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said. 'For the last several matches we 'd been clicking on all cylinders, but tonight it seemed like our timing was off and we just weren't on top of our game.'
Wisconsin struggled offensively against the Big Ten's top serving team as only junior Sheila Shaw recorded double-digit kills with 14. Senior Jill Odenthal was next on the team with eight.
Illinois held a slight 49-45 kill advantage, led by Rachel VanMeter with 18. The difference-maker in the match was hitting percentage as the Illini posted a .214 mark compared to Wisconsin, who hit just .167.
The Illini also notched six service aces as the Badgers only posted two. Wisconsin struggled at the serving line with nine service errors.
'Illinois served very well tonight,' Waite said. 'There's no doubt. If they serve like that every match, they're going to beat a lot of teams.
'We've been working serve receive, and no matter how tough somebody's serving, we've got to do a better job of that. '
At the net, Shaw and freshman setter Jackie Simpson each had four block assists for the Badgers, but as a team, Illinois out-stuffed Wisconsin 11-7.
Defensively, the Badgers had better back-row play, out-digging the Illini 45-41. Freshman Megan Mills had a career-high 11 digs to lead Wisconsin while Jocelyn Wack added 10 defensive saves.
The Illini used an early 7-0 run in game one to break a 4-4 tie and go up 11-4. The Badgers were never able to get closer than three points until late in the game when they converted on four straight points to pull within one at 27-28. But, Illinois ' Rachel VanMeter put down one of her game-high seven kills, allowing the Illini to serve for game point. A bad Wisconsin set gave Illinois the point and the game.
In game two, the Illini went on a 9-0 stretch to take a quick 20-9 lead. Wisconsin got no closer than eight (25-17), hitting just .182 as a team in the period, compared to Illinois' .273 mark. The Illini, who lead the Big Ten in service aces, recorded three in the second game.
The Badgers took an early 4-1 lead in game three, but the Illini battled back to tie the game at 14. The game was tied three more times, including at 18-18, before Illinois took thee straight points to go up 21-18. Wisconsin stayed within three throughout the rest of the period and fought off three match points when a kill from Shaw tied the game at 29-29. Another kill from Shaw at 30-29 again prevented match point, but an Illinois block at 31-30 gave the Illini the win.
Wisconsin continues its three-game road swing as it travels to sixth-ranked Penn State and seventh-ranked Ohio State next weekend.
'The last time we took a loss was in three games at Minnesota,' Waite said, 'And from that match we learned a lot, we changed some things and really took a big step up as a team. So, we need to try to do that again. We'll regroup this week, rest up and head into a tough weekend and hopefully get some wins that will really make a difference.'
