Nov. 15, 2009

 

Box Score | Box Score

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin volleyball team (11-14 overall, 6-10 Big Ten Conference) was swept by No. 13 Minnesota on Sunday, stretching its season-long losing streak to five matches. The Badgers were defeated 25-11, 25-21, 25-22 in front of 4,341 fans in the UW Field House.

“Today was unfortunate, the way we started out today, just getting down big,” head coach Pete Waite said. “Our ball control was not with us today. I think over the course of the match, you look at our hitting percentage and it’s way too low to compete in the Big Ten. We have to come together here in the next couple of matches and clean things up. Somehow I think the group needs to find a way and find the leaders who are going to step up and do that.”

Primarily in the first two sets, the Badgers’ offense was hampered by inconsistent hitting and Minnesota’s pesky defense, which racked up 16 blocks. Despite edging the Golden Gophers in kills (36-35), the Badgers hit just .026 percent in the match.

Wisconsin totaled just four blocks. Freshman Mary Ording, who started for the first time since Sept. 25, made the most of her time, putting down three kills and blocking a team-high four shots.

Allison Wack highlighted Wisconsin’s play with a team-high 11 kills and a match-high 10 digs.

Brittney Dolgner also had a strong offensive match, totaling 10 kills. She added four digs to go over 1,000 for her career.

Janelle Gabrielsen had strong overall production as she scored five kills paired with a .231 hitting percentage. Gabrielsen dished out 21 assists and also tallied eight digs. Wisconsin out-dug Minnesota 39-38.

In addition to Ording, several other players saw significant playing time for the Badgers as Waite shook up the lineup. Jessa Benson saw time at setter, where she totaled nine assists. Caity DuPont started on the right side.

Minnesota’s (21-7, 12-4) top hitter, Lauren Gibbemeyer, had a match-high 14 kills alongside a .480 hitting percentage. Gibbemeyer also led the team with 12 blocked shots. Ariana Filho made solid offensive contributions as she put down seven kills and connected on .357 percent of her shots. Taylor Carico put up a match-high 30 assists, while Christine Tan had a successful service game with two aces.

The Badgers struggled in the first set as they failed to consistently pass well. Minnesota was able to restrict Wisconsin’s offensive game with seven blocks in the set. The Golden Gophers opened up the set with six straight points and rolled on from there. Wisconsin’s  negative .081 hitting percentage in the set could not be matched with Minnesota’s hitting percentage of .320.

Wisconsin avoided another slow start in the second set and continuously answered Minnesota’s efforts as both teams were tied through the first nine points. Minnesota then scored three consecutive points to take a 12-9 lead, but the Badgers quickly evened the score again at 13. However, Minnesota established another three point advantage at 19-16, which Wisconsin would not be able to overcome. Minnesota won the second frame 25-21. Minnesota’s hitting percentage regressed in the second set as it connected on just .133 percent of its shots, while Wisconsin improved with a .026 hitting percentage.

Minnesota jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the third set, but Wisconsin refused to go down quietly. The Badgers continued to battle the Golden Gophers and, although they trailed by multiple points throughout the set, came within one at 21-20. A kill from Dolgner kept the score tight at 23-22, but Minnesota would quickly score two straight kills to earn the match victory, 25-22.

“This late in the season we should be playing better ball than we have this season,” Waite said. “I think the Minnesota team was good but we showed in the third game as we started coming back we had opportunities to be right with them and still were not playing our best ball. That’s our challenge now as our team and as a staff as players need to step up and find a way to play some good ball.”

The Badgers make their final road trip of the season next weekend when they travel to face Northwestern on Friday, followed by No. 5 Illinois on Saturday.

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JT Luljak

Wisconsin Athletic Communications