Volleyball falls at Indiana
November 21, 2008 | Volleyball
The race for the NCAA tournament got even tighter as the Wisconsin volleyball team fell 25-23, 25-19, 17-25, 25-18 at Indiana on Friday night. The Badgers and Hoosiers move into a tie for sixth place in the Big Ten Conference at 7-10.
Wisconsin (17-12 overall) outperformed Indiana (15-14) in a number of categories, including a 13-9 advantage in blocks. Audra Jeffers led all players with eight stuffs, including three solos.
The Badgers also had 43 digs, compared to 37 for the Hoosiers, led by Kim Kuzma with a match-high 14 and Brittney Dolgner with 13 digs.
UW also had 52 kills while IU put down 50 kills but the Hoosiers hit .248 for the match while the Badgers hit only .151. Jeffers led Wisconsin with 14 kills and a .480 hitting percentage while Morgan Salow added 10 kills and hit .400.
The Badgers had two service aces, one apiece from Janelle Gabrielsen and Elle Ohlander, while totaling only four service errors. Indiana scored on four aces while giving up eight points on service errors.
The Badgers rallied from an eight-point deficit (18-10) in the first set and held off three Hoosier set points. Jeffers led the UW rally with four kills late in the set. Wisconsin held off the first Indiana set point at 24-21 with a Jeffers kill. The Badgers scored three straight to pull within one (24-23) but a kill by Erica Short gave Indiana the set.
The Hoosiers broke a 6-6 tie in the second set, scoring four straight to take a 10-6 lead. IU extended its lead to 13-7, behind blocks from Taylor Wittmer and Lexie Woodson. Indiana led 22-15 but two kills from Salow and a block solo from Jeffers pulled Wisconsin within five (23-18). The Hoosiers would score two straight to win the second set.
Wisconsin came out of the break strong, serving tough and jumping out to a 7-1 lead. Ohlander and Gabrielsen both had service aces during the stretch. The Badgers upped their lead to 13-4, holding the Hoosiers to a negative .030 hitting percentage for the set. UW had five blocks in the period, including three from Jeffers. Wisconsin led 23-12 off a kill from Salow and served for set point at 24-14 but Indiana scored three straight until a block from Salow and Katherine Dykstra ended the period in the Badgers' favor.
UW struggled with its passing in the fourth set, allowing the Hoosiers to ramp up their offense once again. Indiana scored three straight to take a 12-8 lead and upped that lead to 20-14 as the Hoosiers hit .419 for the period. Wittmer pounded two kills for IU, putting it up 22-15 as the Badgers would score only three more points in the set.
The Badgers wrap up their Big Ten road season with a match at No. 1 Penn State on Saturday. Match time is 7 p.m. from Rec Hall. The match will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis by the Big Ten Network on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Wisconsin wraps up the regular season on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 with home matches vs. No. 16 Illinois and No. 18 Purdue. The 64-team field for the 2008 NCAA Tournament will be announced on Nov. 30.
