Wisconsin Badgers
James Madison
Badger block keys 3-0 sweep
August 31, 2012 | Volleyball
Aug. 31, 2012
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LONG BEACH, Calif.- Led a season-high 14 blocks, the Wisconsin volleyball team opened the Long Beach State Invitational with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 win over James Madison on Friday morning.
Senior Mary Ording had a career-high eight blocks while senior Bailey Reshel tied her career best with seven stuffs to lead the Badgers (3-1).
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"I think the big difference in this match was blocking - setting up our block, filling holes and stopping their attackers," said UW head coach Pete Waite. "Nearly five blocks per set is amazing for a team."
The Badger block held the Dukes' hitting percentage to just .025 (28 kills, 25 errors, 119 attacks), a season low for a UW opponent. Wisconsin hit .182 (38-19-110) as a team, led by nine kills apiece from Ellen Chapman and Reshel.
UW had a balanced offensive attack with Alexis Mitchell adding seven kills, Julie Mikaelsen six kills, Ording four kills and Courtney Thomas three kills.
In addition to their blocking, the Badgers also had a strong back-court defensive showing, outdigging the Dukes(1-3) 57-51. Annemarie Hickey continued her streak of double-figure dig matches with a match-high 14 digs. Chapman added a season-high 11 digs.
Wisconsin scored on four service aces, including the first career service ace for freshman Victoria Ito.
The Badgers jumped out to a 17-9 lead in the first set but James Madison rallied back to pull within three (19-16) behind three kills from Danielle Erb, who finished with a match-high 10 kills. UW served for set point at 24-17 but the Dukes scored four straight points before a kill from Thomas put the set away.
The second set was a close repeat of the first set with Wisconsin taking a 18-10 lead before JMU rallied to pull within five (20-15). Two kills each from Chapman and Reshel keyed a 5-2 run for Wisconsin to go up two sets to none.
In the third set, the Dukes led 7-6 before the Badgers went on a 6-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. James Madison would get no closer than four points (14-10) but the Dukes held off three match points before a kill from Ording gave UW the sweep.
Wisconsin continues tournament play this evening, taking on Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m.
"I hope that offensively we're clicking a little bit better," said Waite. "We're going have to up our game against the Matadors. We have a short turnaround time but we'll get ourselves ready. "
