Aug. 28, 2010
Box Score l Box Score 
| Cumulative Stats
Wisconsin 3, Seton Hall 0
Kaplan Arena • Williamsburg, Va.
| |
| |
 |
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Wisconsin
| 25
| 27 | 25
| -- | -- | Seton Hall
| 16
| 25
| 17
| -- | -- | | | | Stats Leaders
| Wisconsin
|
| Seton Hall
| Walch - 19
| Kills
| Osmun - 12 | | Walch - .607 | Hit %
| Hugeback - .320 | | Gabrielsen - 36 | Assists
| Trudeau - 27 | | Kuzma - 15 | Digs | Warren - 14 | Gabriel/Mitchell - 2
| Blocks | Osmun - 2 | | Stats Comparison
| WIS | SH
| Kills
| 50 | 33 | Hitting Pct.
| .408 | .206
| Assists
| 49
| 30
| | Service Aces | 7
| 2
| Digs
| 41 | 35 | Total Blocks
| 7 | 3 | | |
| |
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - It took only three sets for the Wisconsin volleyball team to win its third straight match and to claim the title of the William & Mary Tribe Invitational. The Badgers swept Seton Hall 25-16, 27-25, 25-17 to open their season 3-0.
"I'm really happy with our team being able to win the tournament on the road," said UW Coach Pete Waite. "There were times in each of the matches that we were tested and had to make adjustments and that's exactly why we are playing in these tournaments. Especially for the younger players being the court, it's all a new experience for them. I think they handled themselves very well.".
Fast Facts
| • Walch named MVP of tournament
| • Gabrielsen, Thompson earn all-tournament honors
| • Wack tallies career-high five service aces
| |
Freshman Elise Walch was named the most valuable player of the tournament after leading all players with a season-high 19 kills today. Senior Allison Wack added 11 kills as the Badgers hit an impressive .408 for the match. Walch hit a season-high .607 (19-2-28) as she was nearly unstoppable on the day. Wack hit .429 (11-2-21) for the UW.
The Badgers had 50 kills in the match while Seton Hall totaled only 33 kills and hit .206. Sarah Osmun led the Pirates (1-2) with 12 kills while Hannah Hugeback added 10 kills.
Janelle Gabrielsen also earned all-tournament honors, putting up 36 assists today. She added seven kills and nine digs for the Badgers.
Freshman Dominique Thompson picked up her first all-tourney honor, hitting .667 for the day with seven kills and adding two blocks.
"(Walch and Thompson) were highly touted coming out of high school but at the same time, when you get to the college level, you never know how they're going to adjust," said Waite. "But clearly in this first weekend, they proved that they can play the game well and they are very low error. That's very important so that we're not giving points to the opponent and I'm very proud of what they did."
Wisconsin also dominated the match defensively, outblocking Seton Hall 7-3 and outdigging the Pirates 41-35. Alexis Mitchell and Gabrielsen led the Badgers with three blocks apiece while Kim Kuzma led all players with 15 digs.
"We saw improvement as we went on," said Waite of the weekend. "Kim Kuzma defensively really picked it up after the first match we played and really made a difference for us. We're see some things - the beginning of a team forming and that's what the plan was."
After struggling early with their service, the Badgers finished with seven aces, including a career-high five for Wack. Wisconsin finished with 10 service errors and was aced twice.
The Badgers used an 8-0 run to pull away in the second set, breaking a 7-7 tie to take a 15-7 lead. Wack had four aces during that stretch.
In the second set, the score was tied 11 times, including at 23-23. The Badgers served for the set at 24-23 but the Pirates came back to serve for set point at 25-24. Wisconsin scored three straight points, including an ace from Kuzma to take the set in extra points.
In the third set, UW broke a 10-10 tie with five of the next six points, taking a 15-11 lead. Seton Hall would cut the lead to two (15-13) but the Badgers had four blocks in the set for the win.
Wisconsin opens its home season on Friday-Saturday, hosting the 19th annual InnTowner Invitational. The Badgers will take on Duquesne, Loyola Chicago and Chicago State in the round robin tournament.
"It's going to be great to get back home and play in front of our fans," said Waite." A lot of our fans were able to see the team at our intrasquad scrimmage but now with one week under our belt, we're already a more mature team. It will be another good chance for them to see us play."
