Volleyball Sweeps Michigan on Road
November 03, 2006 | Volleyball
The 10th-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team kept its Big Ten Conference winning streak going with a 30-26, 30-14, 30-25 win at Michigan. The Badgers (18-5 overall, 10-3 Big Ten) move into sole possession of third place in the league with the win and Purdue's loss at Penn State.
'I think we really picked up where we left off back at the Field House, ' UW head coach Pete Waite said. 'Our whole team realized there 's another level they can play. They played together in this match, Jackie dispersed the ball well; the passers did well. We outdid them in every category which is great because it was their Rock the House night, or Pack the House Night. Our kids came out like it was a home match. It was a big win for us.'
After a slow start, the Badgers ended up hitting .315 for the match, its third consecutive match over .300. Taylor Reineke led the UW at .467 (8-1-15) while Maria Carlini hit .344 and led the team with 13 kills. Brittney Dolgner and Audra Jeffers each put down 10 kills for the Badgers.
The Wolverines were led by Katie Bruzdzinski, who had a match-high 16 kills, while Lyndsay Miller was second on the team with eight kills. Michigan hit just .163 for the match and the Badgers also finished with a 50-41 advantage in kills.
Wisconsin dominated defensively, outblocking Michigan 11-3, all which came in the first game for the Wolverines. Carlini, Reineke and Amy Bladow all totaled four blocks for the Badgers.
The UW was also outstanding in the backcourt, outdigging Michigan 52-37. Jocelyn Wack led all players with 17 digs while Jackie Simpson added 11 digs. Simpson also put up 36 assists in running the Badger offense.
Wisconsin finished with a 5-4 advantage in service aces.
'It's just a great combination right now between the blocking and the defense,' Waite said. 'When the blockers aren't getting the block, they touching a lot ' the defenders are able to dig around the block. They 're flowing all together and that's just great team volleyball. '
The Badgers took advantage of four consecutive Wolverine hitting errors to take a 15-10 lead in game one. Wisconsin upped its lead to six (17-11) and maintained control of the game until Michigan cut the lead to two at 26-24 off a kill from Erin Penn. The Wolverines were also within two at 28-26 until a service ace from Berkley and another Michigan hitting error gave the Badgers the win. Jeffers was virtually unstoppable in the first period, putting down a game-high seven kills on 12 attempts with no errors for a .583 hitting percentage.
Wisconsin improved its hitting percentage from .152 in game one to .593 in game two. Reineke led the way with five kills on six attempts for a .833 hitting percentage. The middle blocker had four kills and a block to put Wisconsin up 10-5. The Badgers steadily increased their lead, keying their offense off good defense. The UW outblocked Michigan 5-0 in the period and also totaled 15 digs, compared to only eight for the Wolverines.
In game three, the Badgers were up 11-9 when they went on a 7-0 to take an 18-9 lead. Wisconsin had three blocks during that stretch and a service ace from Simpson to end the streak. Michigan battled back within four at 18-14 and again at 21-17 but Wisconsin went on for its fourth straight win, including three straight by 3-0 scores.
The Badgers continue their road trip at Michigan State on Saturday night. First serve is at 7:30 p.m. ET in Jenison Fieldhouse.
