Oct. 31 2009
Box Score | Box Score 
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Wisconsin volleyball team dropped its match on Saturday against Michigan State. The Badgers were swept in three sets, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20. Despite the loss, Wisconsin still holds a .500 record in the Big Ten Conference.
“The Michigan State game was a really hard game tonight,” said head coach Pete Waite. “It just goes to show how tough the teams are in the Big Ten no matter what their record [is]. They can get the win on any given night.”
Wisconsin (11-10 overall, 6-6 Big Ten) did have a strong offensive match, hitting .277 percent as a team, but the Badgers were never able to string together any runs to put themselves in a position to win.
“We actually did fairly well offensively,” Waite said. “Hitting .277 [percent] is pretty good, but we weren’t able to run our middle and right sides as much because our passing was just a little off. We weren’t getting aced a lot, but we weren’t right on target like we were last night.”
Brittney Dolgner led UW’s offense with a match-high 16 kills and a .344 hitting percentage. Allison Wack also contributed offensively with nine kills, while Janelle Gabrielsen put down six. Gabrielsen had a strong all around match, tallying 28 assists and connecting on .667 percent of her shots. Wisconsin had 43 kills while Michigan State put down 50 attacks.
The Badgers managed to out-dig the Spartans (39-36) and were led by Kim Kuzma who had 13 saves. Gabrielsen chipped in 11 digs.
Michigan State’s (16-8, 4-8) offense featured two players with double-digit kills. Kyndra Abron scored 14 kills and maintained an impressive .583 hitting percentage, while Becca Zlabis put down 12 kills and connected on .524 percent of her shots. Natalie Emro directed the Spartans’ offense, dishing out a match-high 40 assists.
“Michigan State was passing well,” Waite said. “They were able to keep Emro on the net. She’s an excellent setter, as well as an attacker. They were able to run a very fast offense. They kept our blockers guessing a lot of the time.”
Wisconsin only had four team blocks on the night as Alexis Mitchell and Elle Ohlander both had two stuffs. Michigan State recorded eight blocks as both Abron and Vanessa King had four blocks apiece.
The score was tied at three in the first set when Michigan State scored three straight points to take a 6-3 advantage. This proved to be critical, as the Badgers would not be able to overcome the deficit throughout the entire set, losing 25-19.
The second set followed the same story line for the Badgers. The score was tied at one before Michigan State would again score three straight points to take a 4-1 lead. Wisconsin had a chance to come back, narrowing the score to two late in the set at 22-20. However, Michigan State went on to close out the set with a 25-22 victory.
Michigan State took another early lead in the third set, with a score of 7-2. The Badgers pulled within three at 16-13, but would not get any closer. Michigan State finished off the match, winning 25-20.
After the match, Waite spoke volume about the strength of the Big Ten.
“Michigan State was a team that was ranked in the top-20 or 15 early in the season,” Waite said. “It was a team that was ranked at the top and beat USC, so we know they’re a very good team. I can name five or six other teams in the Big Ten that have a losing record right now, but are still dangerous teams when they’re on their game.”
Wisconsin hosts two tough teams next weekend in No. 1 ranked Penn State on Friday and Ohio State on Saturday.
“We have some great teams coming in next weekend who are playing phenomenal volleyball,” Waite said. “There will be some exciting matches in the UW Field House.”
