Oct. 9, 2009
Box Score
Box Score
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin volleyball team (7-7, 2-3 Big Ten Conference) earned its first win over a ranked team this season when it defeated No. 18 Michigan State (14-3, 2-3) in a three-set sweep. The Badgers won 25-16, 27-25, 29-27 in front of 3,566 fans at the UW Field House on Friday.
"I'm really happy for our team, to get the win over a ranked team and show the progress we've made over the last couple of weeks," head coach Pete Waite said. "We had different people stepping up tonight. Elle Ohlander had a great match and Brittney Dolgner came through big. "
Dolgner led the way for the Badgers with 15 kills and a .444 hitting percentage. Ohlander also had a strong offensive performance as she scored 10 kills and connected on .500 percent of her shots.
The Badgers collectively stepped up their offensive game as they bettered the Spartans in kills (51-37), hitting percentage (.256-.183 percent) and assists (47-35). Sophomore Janelle Gabrielsen fueled the Badger offense as she put up a match-high 41 assists.
Wisconsin also out-performed its opponents defensively in both digs (49-39) and blocks (7-4). Dolgner had a match-high 16 digs, while junior Kim Kuzma added 13 saves. Freshman Alexis Mitchell led all blockers with four stuffs.
Kyndra Abron led the Spartans with 10 kills, while Natalie Emro tallied 30 assists. Allyson Karaba recorded a team-high 12 digs.
UW grabbed an early 10-5 lead in the first set and simply did not let up. The Badgers never trailed the Spartans, nor did they allow a tie score. Michigan State struggled offensively in connecting on just .125 percent of its shots. Freshman Kirby Toon led the Badgers with four kills and a .429 hitting percentage. Gabrielsen also scored two of Wisconsin's six service aces as the Badgers won the set 25-16.
"Our service game was strong and really kept them out of their offense because this is a really powerful team, offensively," Waite said.
Wisconsin came out on top in a second-set battle that featured 13 tie scores. The set was neck-and-neck as both teams constantly exchanged points. It appeared that the Spartans had shifted the momentum once they tied the score at 22 with a service ace, but Wisconsin refused to go down quietly. Dolgner gave UW a 26-25 lead with a shot that rolled halfway down the net, falling into Spartan territory. Dolgner and Mitchell then stuffed a Michigan State shot to close out the set 27-25.
Wisconsin displayed its resilience throughout a thrilling third set, highlighted by 15 ties and eight lead changes. Despite trailing early 8-4, UW time and again fought back to even the score. The Badgers eventually gained a 17-14 lead, which they were unable to maintain as the Spartans then took the lead at 22-20. Wisconsin, however, continued to answer each Michigan State point and eventually finished the match with a 4-1 run to earn a 29-27 victory.
"I like to see that they're playing at this level either home or away," Waite said. "The team stayed composed and that's really important. We stayed on course and got the win. The crowd really gave us a lot of energy to get the win and not to go to a fourth or fifth set. "
Waite said that each day the team seeks improvement.
"The team has just been making a lot of progress each day and each week and that's what we're asking them to do.," Waite said. "We set that as a goal early in the year and they're showing that progress now. They really earned this win. "
Wisconsin continues its home stand tomorrow when they face No. 8 Michigan in the UW Field House at 7 p.m.
