Badgers Sweep Loyola in NCAA Tournament
December 03, 2004 | Volleyball
The Wisconsin volleyball team swept Loyola (Ill.) 30-27, 30-26, 30-25 Friday night at the UW Field House in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers advance to the second round of the Big Dance with a 20-9 overall record while the Ramblers end their season at 21-9.
'I told everyone all week that Loyola was a good team, ' Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said. 'We respected everything they did on the court tonight because they really made us work to win this match.
'But, I was also really proud of our team. They stepped up to any surges that Loyola came at us with and we were able to keep their hitters down with some pretty low hitting percentages.'
Wisconsin held Loyola to just a .085 hitting mark on the match while the Badgers put up a .215 clip. Senior Jill Odenthal took match-high honors with 12 kills while junior Sheila Shaw also recorded double-figures with 10 slams.
Loyola's Hilary Stromath led the Ramblers with 11 kills and a .375 hitting mark.
A potent Badger block kept the Ramblers off-balance all night long as Wisconsin put up 18.5 stuffs, including 9.5 in game one compared to Loyola's three. Freshman Taylor Reineke led all players with 10 block assists. Wisconsin's 18.5 blocks is the most the Badgers have recorded in a three-game match in the NCAA Tournament.
'(Our younger players) did a nice job,' Waite said. 'I think they took it like every other match in the Big Ten. That's what the Big Ten does for you, it prepares for matches like this. But I think really even looking at the stats and what we saw on the court, the upperclassmen really pulled through and made it easy for them to just be on the court and feel comfortable.'
The Ramblers bested the Badgers on defense, putting up 57 digs compared to Wisconsin's 49 saves. Loyola's Courtney Ashley led all players with 15 digs, while Badger Aubrey Meierotto led her squad with 14. Meierotto also recorded nine kills and led the Badgers with a .450 hitting percentage. Wisconsin 's freshman libero Jocelyn Wack also put up double-figure digs with 11.
The Badgers also trailed the Ramblers in serving as Loyola scored on eight service aces to Wisconsin's three. Both teams committed five errors on the serving line.
Wisconsin and Loyola battled closely through game one, which featured 14 tie scores, including as late as 27-27. The Badgers kept the Ramblers from scoring again as sophomore Maria Carlini converted on back-to-back kills to allow Wisconsin to serve for game point. The Badgers took the 1-0 lead in the match as Carlini teamed with Reineke for the game-clinching block.
The Badgers held the lead for most of game two, but Loyola never trailed by more than five points in the frame. The Ramblers tied the score at 21-21 on an ace from Ashley, but consecutive Loyola attack errors put the Badgers ahead at 23-21. A block by Odenthal and Shaw set the game at 29-26 and Wisconsin took the 2-0 lead in the match on another Rambler miscue.
Wisconsin took advantage of Loyola errors in game three as the Ramblers hit just .022 as a team in the frame. After falling behind briefly at 12-10, Wisconsin went on a 6-0 run to go up 16-12 on a Meierotto service ace. The Badgers took their biggest lead of the game at 27-21 on a Rambler attack error and a Shaw kill to center court sealed the victory for Wisconsin.
'We took it very seriously this week knowing every game could be our last,' Shaw said. 'We just wanted to go out there, fight hard and get a win.'
With the victory, the Badgers advance to play Notre Dame in the second round Saturday at 7 p.m. Notre Dame beat Valparaiso 3-1 Friday in other first-round action at the UW Field House. Saturday's match is set for 7 p.m. with the winner advancing to the NCAA Regional in Green Bay, Wis.
