Wisconsin Back in Second Place Tie
November 12, 2005 | Volleyball
The 13th-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team dropped into a tie for second place in the Big Ten Conference standings following a 21-30, 30-24, 30-19, 31-29 loss at 17th-ranked Minnesota. The Badgers (19-6 overall, 11-5 Big Ten) and Minnesota (21-6, 11-5) split this season's Border Battle Cup points with both teams winning their home match. The Cup is currently tied at 100 points each.
'I think we missed an opportunity here to get a win on the road in Minnesota because we made a lot of unforced errors on our side of the net, ' said head coach Pete Waite.
Wisconsin had a hitting percentage of just .119 for the match, recording a season-high 41 hitting errors. The Badgers had two more kills than the Golden Gophers (63-61) but Minnesota had just 28 hitting errors to connect on .185 of its attacks.
Sophomore Audra Jeffers led all hitter with 17 kills while Sheila Shaw added 16 kills. Taylor Reineke was also in double figures for the Badgers with 10 kills. Minnesota also had three players in double-digit kills, led by Meghan Cumpston with 16.
The Golden Gophers outblocked the Badgers 17-7, including a match-high eight blocks from Meredith Nelson and Jessy Jones. Wisconsin was led by Shaw with five blocks.
'(The blocking advantage) was a big advantage for them but it still comes down to passing,' said Waite. 'If we can pass in our offense, we were all over the net and they were able to kick out on the blocking and be there early waiting. They're a big blocking team.'
The Badgers finished with more digs than the Gophers, 73-68, including 26 from Jocelyn Wack, who upped her streak of double-digit matches to 56. Her total ties her for third on the NCAA record list. Maria Carlini added 16 digs for the Badgers. Minnesota's Paula Gentil led all players with 28 digs.
'In the first game of the match we played well with good passing and good serving but then for some reason we came out in the second game and didn 't bring those things with us,' said Waite.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 4-0 lead in game one behind two team blocks and a service ace from Simpson. Minnesota would cut the lead to one (10-9) on a Badger net violation but the UW would take control behind two kills from Jeffers. Wisconsin went up 14-9 and increased its lead to eight at 20-12 off two straight Gopher hitting errors. Jeffers and Reineke both had five kills in the game to lead the Badgers. The UW also took advantage of three Minnesota service errors and two Badger aces in the period.
The UW battled back from a seven-point (19-11) deficit in game two, outscoring UM 9-2 to tie the score at 20. The Gophers rebounded with their own 6-0 run, scoring three points off Badger errors. Wisconsin held off one game point for Minnesota but a kill from Meredith Nelson evened the match. The Badgers hit just .060 for the game with 15 kills and 12 errors, nine of them unforced, on 50 attempts.
The Gophers had nine team blocks in game three, holding the Badgers to a negative .081 hitting percentage. Minnesota jumped out to an 11-9 lead, behind four early blocks, and never let Wisconsin in the game.
The Badgers battled back in game four, taking a 12-7 lead but the Gophers rallied to tie the game at 18. The period was tied seven more times, including at 28-28. Minnesota served for match point at 29-28 but a kill from Jeffers tied the game again and sent it into extra points. A kill from Jones followed by a Gopher block gave Minnesota the win.
'We just have to learn from this one and come out next week and keep improving our game,' said Waite. 'We're going to have to get after it and next week we're going to have to come out with a great mind set against our next opponent.'
Wisconsin is once again tied for second place in the Big Ten.
'Everyone keeps beating up on each other so we're still in there for second place,' said Waite. 'We still have a shot and we still want it.'
Wisconsin returns to the UW Field House next weekend for its final regular season home matches against Michigan and Michigan State.
