Sept. 29, 2010
7 Illinois 3, Wisconsin 1
UW Field House • Madison, Wis.
| |
| |
 |
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Illinois
| 19 | 25 | 25
| 25 | -- | Wisconsin
| 25
| 20 | 23
| 21 | -- | | | | | | Illinois
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| Wisconsin
| | Bonilla - 32 | Digs | Kuzma - 27 | | Haen - 49 | Assists | Gabrielsen - 39 | | DeBruler - 26 | Kills | Walch - 15 | | Kump - .333 | Hit % | Gabrielsen - .357 | | Bangert - 8 | Blocks | Thompson - 5 | | Stats Comparison
| ILL | WIS
| Kills
| 54 | 50 | Hitting Pct.
| .170 | .107
| Assists
| 52
| 47
| | Service Aces | 2
| 3 | Service Pct.
| .903 | .976 | Digs
| 81 | 81 | Total Blocks
| 12 | 7 | | |
• Box Score | Box Score 
| Quotes
MADISON, Wis. -- Despite an aggressive four-set match on Wednesday evening, the Wisconsin volleyball team (11-3, 0-3), couldn't finish things off against No. 7-ranked Illinois (11-2, 3-0), falling 19-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-21.
Fast Facts
| • Kuzma extends double-digit digs streak to 18 matches
| • UW held Illinois to lowest hitting percentage of season
| • The Badgers had a season-high 81 digs
| |
Freshman Elise Walch stepped up to the plate, scoring a team-high 15 kills for the Badgers. Seven different players contributed to the team total of 50 on the night including 11 from senior Allison Wack and seven from sophomore Mary Ording, who started on the right side for the UW.
Setter Janelle Gabrielsen also added six kills of her own along with 39 assists and four blocks in the loss. Kim Kuzma continued on her 18-match double-digit dig streak with a season-high 27 saves.
Illinois senior Laura DeBruler controlled the game for the Fighting Illini with match-high 26 kills and was second on the team with 15 digs. Michelle Bartsch was close behind with 13 of the team's 54 kills and also added a match-high seven blocks against the Badgers.
Hillary Haen showed why she is No. 1 in the Big Ten for assists, contributing 49 of the Fighting Illini's 52 on the night.
Both teams ended the night with a low hitting percentage, .107 for the Badgers and .170 for Illinois. The Illini also out-blocked the Badgers with 12 stuffs compared to Wisconsin's seven.
The Badgers started things off strong in the first set, finding an early 8-2 lead. Despite a low hitting percentage of .133, Wisconsin played more aggressively than in previous matches and grabbed the 25-19 win. Dominique Thompson and Walch made their presence known from the get-go, with four kills apiece.
DeBruler took control of the second set, leading both teams with seven kills. Michelle Bartsch and DeBruler made big kills to start the game and Illinois held control the rest of the set, evening the match with a 25-20 win.
Ording, Gabrielsen, and Walch stepped up with three kills apiece to try to keep the Badgers in the game, but it wasn't enough as UW ended the set with a .021 hitting percentage.
In the third set, neither team was about to give up easily and kept the score close with seven ties in the period. Although Wisconsin held the early lead at 10-6 but Illinois was able to creep back with a 5-0 run, taking an 11-10 lead.
The Badgers led late in the set 21-19 off a kill from Gabrielsen but the Illinoi tied the set with one of DeBruler's seven kills in the period. Walch had a kill to put Wisconsin up 22-21 but kills from DeBruler and Johannah Bangert gave Illinois a 25-23 win.
The win gave the Illini the advantage going into the fourth set as the Badgers found themselves down 18-12. A timeout helped the team regroup as Wack and Walch come out strong to bring Wisconsin back 19-22. DeBruler's presence was too much though as the 5-10 outside hitter won the 25-21 match with a big kill.
Wisconsin tries to regroup before closing out its homestand on Friday as it hosts to No. 25 Northwestern at 7 p.m. at the Field House.
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Julie McKay
UW Athletic Communications
