Oct. 10, 2009
Box Score 
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin volleyball team (8-7, 3-3 Big Ten conference) upset a ranked opponent for the second consecutive time as it beat No. 8 Michigan on Saturday in four sets 26-28, 25-23, 25-18, 25-21. It's the first time since the 2006 season that the Badgers have defeated two ranked teams in a row. Michigan is the highest ranked team that Wisconsin has beaten since defeating No. 2 Penn State on Oct. 27, 2006. Two days later, the Badgers beat No. 24 Ohio State.
"Well, that completes a great weekend, beating two ranked teams," head coach Pete Waite said. "The crowd was great, the players were poised through the whole thing. They never got rattled. Even after losing the first set in an extra-points battle, they came back and got the next three [sets]."
Wisconsin consistently connected on its shots as it maintained a .245 hitting percentage. Allison Wack was one of three Badgers with double-digit kills as she scored a match-high 18. Brittney Dolgner put down 14 kills while Elle Ohlander totaled 11. Wack was also UW's most consistent striker throughout the match, connecting on .472 of her shots.
UW tallied a season-high 13 blocks with Janelle Gabrielsen stuffing a career-high seven shots. Ohlander totaled seven as well, one shy of her career high. Dolgner was another key defensive player for the Badgers with a match-high 18 digs. Wack also had a double-double as she had 12 saves and Kim Kuzma added 11.
Gabrielsen also directed the Badgers offense as she put up 45 of the team's 55 assists.
In addition to keeping Michigan out of its offense with blocks, Wisconsin also scored five service aces. Both Dolgner and Kirby Toon scored two aces apiece. Toon has tallied two service aces in her last four matches.
Michigan did however better Wisconsin in kills (61-58), assists (59-45) and digs (67-59). Alex Hunt led the Wolverines with 15 kills, while Lexi Zimmerman tallied a match-high 54 assists. Sloane Donhoff equaled Dolgner with a team-high 18 digs.
Wisconsin scored three unanswered points to take a 13-10 lead in the first set, but the Wolverines would answer to tie the score at 18. The teams exchanged points, the Badgers began to pull away, taking a 23-21 lead. Michigan then went on a 7-3 run to win the set 28-26. UW played competitively despite connecting on just .106 percent of its shots.
In the second set UW grabbed a 15-11 lead over Michigan, which it would not lose en route to a 25-23 victory. The Badgers improved their consistency with a .245 hitting percentage in the set.
The Badgers continued to play strong in the third set with an impressive .500 hitting percentage. UW strung together a 10-3 run to take a commanding 20-13 lead over Michigan and would win the set 25-18. Dolgner scored seven of the team's 16 kills and only had one hitting error as she connected on .600 percent of her shots.
The fourth set was neck-and-neck until the Badgers began to pull away from a tie score of 16. Wisconsin gained a two-point advantage over Michigan (21-19), which it built on to win the match 25-21. Wack led the way with six kills, while Alexis Mitchell and Ohlander both chipped in four kills.
"I'm really pleased with what we're seeing as far as the progress of the team from day-to-day and week-to-week," said Waite. "That's what our goal has been."
Wisconsin hits the road next weekend when it travels to face Purdue on Friday and Indiana on Sunday.
