Aug. 25, 2012
Creighton 3, Wisconsin 1
The Corral • Tampa, Fla. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Creighton
| 17 | 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 14 | 20 | 22 | -- | | | | Stats Leaders
| | CU | | WIS | | Mikaelsen/Chapman-16 | Kills | Browning - 16 | | Thomas - 44 | Assists | Bober - 38 | | Mikaelsen - .345 | Hit %
| Browning-.600 | | Hickey - 22 | Digs | Elman - 22 | | Chapman - 2 | Blocks | Thorson/Sicner-6 | | Thomas - 2 | Aces | Jereb - 3 | | Stats Comparison
| CU | WIS | | Kills | 55 | 56 | | Hitting Pct. | .265 | .210 | | Assists | 50 | 54 | | Service Aces | 5 | 2 | | Digs | 68 | 72 | | Total Blocks | 10 | 4 | | |
• Box Score | Box Score 
TAMPA, Fla.-- Despite winning the first set in commanding fashion, the University of Wisconsin volleyball team couldn’t hold on, falling to Creighton 3-1 in the championship of the USF Invitational. Creighton (3-0) downed the Badgers 17-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-22 to take the tournament title.
“Creighton played some real consistent ball,” said UW head coach Pete Waite. “I think their ball control kept them in system a lot of the time. I think we did some great things in the first set.”
| Fast Facts | | • Badgers lose first match of season | | • Chapman, Mikaelsen tally 16 kills apiece | | • Hickey saves 22 digs | |
Wisconsin (2-1) jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the first set and never looked back. The Badgers dominated offensively, hitting .500 (20 kills-3 errors-34 attempts) for the set. UW used a balanced attack with four players – Ellen Chapman, Julie Mikaelsen, Alexis Mitchell and Courtney Thomas – all putting away four kills.
“Our passing broke down a little bit and our serving backed off in the second set and that was enough to change the momentum,” explained Waite. “We made surges in each of the sets but we didn’t sustain them very well so that’s something we have to improve on.”
Creighton turned up its serving and defense in the second set, jumping out to an insurmountable 15-3 lead. UW hit just .100 (9-5-40) in the second set as the Bluejays had 24 digs. Wisconsin battled back in the third set but with the game tied at 20, Creighton scored five straight points, including two on blocks, to take the third set.
In the fourth set, Creighton served for match point at 24-19 but the Badgers held off three deciding points before a kill from Heather Thorson put the match away.
The Bluejays won the match from the service line and blocking. Creighton had five service aces, compared to two aces for the Badgers, and also outblocked Wisconsin 10-2.
“We need to shore our blocking up and closing that up so there aren’t the seams for the hitters,” said Waite.
UW had one more kill than Creighton, 56-55, but the Bluejays hit .265 (55-14-155) compared to .210 (56-23-157) for the Badgers. Chapman and Mikaelsen tied for match-high honors with 16 kills. Creighton had three athletes with 10-or-more kills led by Kelli Browning with 16. Thorson chipped in 11 kills and Megan Bober 10 putaways.
“We have to balance our offense out a little bit,” said Waite. “I think we’re relying too heavily on Ellen at times . We need some more people contributing in the kill area.
Badger setter Courtney Thomas finished with a career-high 44 assists and had both of the UW service aces.
Wisconsin edged Creighton 72-68 in digs, led by 22 with Annemarie Hickey. Caroline Workman added 13 saves.
The Badgers return to action next Friday and Saturday, traveling to Long Beach, Calif., for the Long Beach State Invitational. Wisconsin will take on James Madison, Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State in the tournament.
