Nov. 20, 2009

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - The Wisconsin volleyball team (11-15 overall, 6-11 Big Ten Conference) was defeated by Northwestern on Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill., marking the sixth-straight loss for the Badgers.

Game scores were 25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 25-21 as the Badgers suffered their first loss against Northwestern in 11 meetings.

“We had some spurts where we played much better ball than we had been,” UW head coach Pete Waite said. “We had good intensity and good ball handling, but we just weren’t able to close out the [first] set.

“We were up 20-17 in the first set and 14-14 in the second set and, if we could have finished those off, we would have been out of there in three. That’s something we have to do.”

Neither team was able to consistently hit well, but the Wildcats edged the Badgers in hitting percentage, .140-.132. Although it may appear to be a slight difference, it played a crucial role in the outcome of the match as all three of Wisconsin’s set losses were minimal.

“Some unforced errors in there gave [Northwestern] points and confidence, especially when we’re on the road and they had the home crowd behind them,” Waite said.

Allison Wack and Brittney Dolgner highlighted the UW offense with a match-high 16 kills apiece. Wack also hit a solid .229 percent in the match while adding nine digs. Janelle Gabrielsen fueled the Badgers’ offense by putting up a match-high 47 assists.

Kirby Toon and Alexis Mitchell also made contributions offensively, respectively totaling nine and seven kills. Mitchell maintained a team-high .286 hitting percentage on 14 attempts.

Kim Kuzma headlined UW’s defense as she totaled a career-high 30 digs. Wisconsin out-dug Northwestern, 60-57.  However, the Wildcats did out-block the Badgers, 14-11, as Naomi Johnson stuffed eight shots and Kathryn Chrystal added seven blocks.

Wisconsin’s Mary Ording led the Badgers with a career-high five blocks.

Northwestern had two players in double-digit kills as Ariel Baxterback totaled 13 and Sabel Moffett put down 10. Elyse Glab guided Northwestern’s offense with 38 assists.

Both teams constantly exchanged points in the first set, which included 17 lead changes. The Wildcats grabbed an early 3-1 lead, which would be the largest for either team throughout the rest of the set. The score continued to fluctuate between both teams until the set was again tied at 21.

Wisconsin then scored two straight points to take a 23-21 advantage, but the Wildcats quickly responded with four consecutive points of their own to take the set, 25-21.

The Wildcats controlled the beginning of the second set before the score was tied at 12. Three kills from Dolgner helped Wisconsin string together an 8-3 run to take a 20-15 lead. However, Northwestern came back to tie the score at 22. A service ace from Naomi Johnson contributed to Northwestern’s 25-22 set victory.

Wisconsin regrouped during the break and had a strong start in the third set. The Badgers jumped out to a 15-7 lead over the Wildcats and did not look back. Northwestern narrowed the deficit to one at 19-18, but Wisconsin showed its resiliency as it rolled on to a 25-20 set victory.

The fourth began with the same storyline as Wisconsin established an 8-3 lead, but the Wildcats reacted and came back to take a 13-12 advantage. Wisconsin continued to battle, tying the score at 19, but it ultimately could not seize the set as the Badgers lost, 25-21.

With the loss, the Badgers will finish with a losing record for the first time since 1992, where they posted a 14-17 record.

Wisconsin will also not be eligible to compete in the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. This is the first time the Badgers have failed to make the NCAA tournament two years in a row since the 1998 and 1999 seasons.

“We don’t want them [the team] to get down more because we have a lot of young players that have learned a lot this year,” Waite said. “We have a lot of young players who are bringing great energy and a lot of good things on the court.

“There have been times we have three freshmen on the court, as well as a sophomore, a junior and a senior – that’s a young group. We just have to keep getting better.”

The Badgers face No. 5 Illinois on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Huff Hall in Champaign, Ill.