Revenge is sweet for Badger volleyball
November 16, 2008 | Volleyball
Rebounding for a tough five-set loss Friday night, the Wisconsin volleyball team got back on track Sunday with a 25-16, 25-23, 25-16 win over Iowa. The Badgers, who improve to 17-11 overall and take over sole possession of sixth place in the Big Ten Conference at 7-9, are guaranteed a winning season and possible NCAA tournament berth.
'I'm happy we came off of an emotional night on Friday night and played some solid volleyball,' said UW coach Pete Waite. 'It was nice to get the win over Iowa after we went to their place and played poorly the first match of the Big Ten play. We showed that we're very much improved as a team and heading in the right direction.'
The Badgers opened the conference season with a 3-0 loss at Iowa on Sept. 26.
Wisconsin played without starting outside hitter Brittney Dolgner today, who injured an ankle this morning. Sophomore Allison Wack started in place of Dolgner, recording a career-high 14 digs while adding seven kills and three blocks.
Audra Jeffers led the Badgers with 10 kills while Caity DuPont and Morgan Salow both added nine kills to the UW offense. Wisconsin dominated Iowa offensively, putting up 47 team kills and hitting .221. The Hawkeyes had only 25 kills, led by 11 from Aimee Huffman, while hitting .057. Janelle Gabrielsen had 21 assists and Nikki Klingsporn added 18 assists, running the Badger offense.
'It was great that everybody else stepped up,' said Waite in playing without Dolgner. 'Allison and Caity DuPont stepped up well and everyone filled in. That's what being a team is all about. You never know when someone is going to be hurt or be sick on a day and everyone else has to be ready to play at any given notice. '
Wisconsin outdug Iowa 54-35, with Kim Kuzma sharing match-high honors with Wack, also recording 14 saves. Emily Hiza led the Hawkeyes with 11 digs.
The Badgers also finished with an 8-7 advantage in blocks, led by Salow, Wack and Elle Ohlander with three stuffs apiece. Iowa's Laura Kremer led all players with four blocks.
After struggling at the service line Friday night, UW turned in a better performance, scoring five aces and totaling only six service errors. Gabrielsen led all servers with three aces, all coming in the third set.
The Badgers broke an 8-8 tie in the first set, outscoring the Hawkeyes 5-1 to take a 13-9 lead. Gabrielsen had one of her set-high four kills to lead Wisconsin. UW extended its lead to seven (19-12) then nine (23-14) but the Hawkeyes came back to hold off one set point. A kill from DuPont gave the Badgers a 25-16 victory.
Wisconsin rallied from a 10-7 deficit in set two, outscoring Iowa 5-0 to take a 12-10 lead. Jeffers and Salow both had two kills during that stretch. The Badgers upped their lead to five (21-16) but the Hawkeyes also rallied, scoring five straight, including three off blocks, to tie the score at 21. The set was knotted again at 22 but Jeffers added two more of her set-high six kills to put UW up two sets to none.
The Badgers led by two points early in the third set, but the Hawkeyes tied the score at seven off a kill from Laura Kremer. Gabrielsen scored her first service ace to put Wisconsin up 10-7 while a kill from Salow put the Badgers up 14-9. UW served for its first match point at 24-14 but two errors cost Wisconsin until a kill from Jeffers gave the Badgers their first three-set win since downing Northwestern on Oct. 29.
Wisconsin has only four matches remaining in the regular season, all against teams that defeated the Badgers during the first round of Big Ten play.
'We have to prove that we've become much better as a team,' said Waite. 'We've shored up some of our weak areas. We're working hard and fighting harder than we were earlier in the season. A lot of it has to do with communication and a new group and their still working on that on a daily basis. '
'It feels really nice to come out and be a completely different team out there ' to see the strides that we've made,' said Jeffers. 'It's just great going into the end of the Big Ten season.'
UW travels to Indiana and top-ranked Penn State next Friday and Saturday before returning home to host Illinois and Purdue in its final regular-season matches on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29.
