UW Sweeps Purdue in Big Ten Finale
November 25, 2006 | Volleyball
His 200th win was the just the way he likes it. For Wisconsin volleyball coach Pete Waite, winning in three games at No. 22 Purdue was just what he expected from his team. The 11th-ranked Badgers swept the Boilermakers 30-27, 30-22, 30-21 to finish the regular season 23-6 and third in the Big Ten Conference at 16-4.
'It's a great number to reach,' Waite, who is now 200-61 in eight years at Wisconsin, said. 'With any milestone you hit you think about all the players that helped you get there and coaches that have helped you get there. This is a good group and they played really well tonight. I thought they were really comfortable on the court and they were never challenged or stressed to a point where we had to worry too much. It was a great win on the road against a ranked team like Purdue.'
Wisconsin got its offense back on track, hitting .347 for the match with two players in double-digit kills. Freshman Brittney Dolgner led all hitters with 15 kills while Maria Carlini added 14 kills. Senior Amy Bladow and junior Taylor Reineke each put down eight kills with Bladow leading all hitters .538. Junior Jackie Simpson put up 37 assists, running the UW offense.
'I think Jackie had a good night,' Waite said. 'I think she really set the ball well ... She was giving the hitters some good sets and some great tempo. They just did a nice job with a balanced attack.'
The Boilermakers hit .236 for the match and were led by Stephanie Lynch and Danita Merlau with 10 kills apiece.
The UW outblocked Purdue 6-4 with Reineke leading all blockers with five stuffs.
The Badgers also continued their impressive backcourt performance, outdigging the Boilermakers 49-42. Dolgner had the sixth double-double of her career, leading the UW with 12 digs.
Both team recorded six service aces with the Badgers being led by Carlini and Simpson with two aces apiece.
Wisconsin nearly blew a nine-point lead as the Badgers were up 19-10, taking advantage of three blocks and strong hitting. Purdue scored four straight, including two off kills from Gurnell, to pull within five. The Boilermakers edged even closer, using five unforced UW hitting errors to coming within four at 24-20. Purdue had its only two blocks of the game to give the Badgers only a two-point lead (26-24). The Boilermakers stayed within three points and held off two UW game points before a kill from Simpson gave the Badgers a 30-27 win.
The UW broke a 15-15 tie in game two with five straight points to take a 20-15 lead. Carlini served an ace and scored on a back-row attack to key the rally. Three of Bladow 's five kills in the game put the Badgers up 27-17 but the Boilermakers cut the lead to six, 27-21, behind the serve of Brittany Dildine, who started a 4-0 rally with an ace. Kills from Jeffers, Carlini and the game winner from Simpson put the UW up two games to none.
After a 3-3 tie in game three, the Badgers got their offense on track, hitting .421 for the period. Behind two kills from Dolgner, the UW outscored Purdue 6-1 to take a 9-4 lead. Wisconsin upped its lead to seven (18-11) and went on to lead by 10 at 27-17. Dolgner had a game-high six kills in the game, hitting .556, while also leading the team with five digs in the period.
The Badgers will find out on Sunday where they will be seeded in the 2006 NCAA Division I Championship. The 64-team field will be announced between 2-3 p.m. on ESPNews. The UW team and staff will gather in the McClain Center auditorium. The public is invited to join the team for the selection show.
'I'm really happy with the confidence we're playing with and the momentum we have right now,' Waite said. 'Two weeks ago we hit a plateau where we had to figure our way out of it and had to fight to get back on track. Now I think that we're feeling good together. Now there's a real chemistry on the team and they're really positive on the court. For the NCAA Tournament, we 'll have to hit the road and get some wins so this was a good challenge for us. '
