Aug. 31, 2012
Wisconsin 3,Cal State Northridge 1
Walter Pyramid • Long Beach, Calif. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Wisconsin
| 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | Northridge
| 25 | 11 | 12 | 21 | -- | | | | Stats Leaders
| | WIS | | HOME | | Reshel - 15 | Kills | Allen - 13 | | Thomas - 42 | Assists | Gedryn - 31 | | Mitchell - .650 | Hit %
| Gedryn - .312 | | Hickey - 20 | Digs | Ortiz - 13 | | Mitchell - 6 | Blocks | Four tied - 4 | | Graff - 2 | Aces | Three tied - 1 | | Stats Comparison
| WIS | CSUN | | Kills | 65 | 42 | | Hitting Pct. | .340 | .140 | | Assists | 56 | 41 | | Service Aces | 5 | 3 | | Digs | 60 | 58 | | Total Blocks | 13 | 10 | | |
• Box Score | Box Score 
LONG BEACH, Calif.-- Despite falling in the first set, the Wisconsin volleyball team rallied to down Cal State Northridge23-25, 25-11, 25-12, 25-21 at the Long Beach State Invitational on Friday evening. The win improves the Badgers to 4-1 on the season.
“We’ve been talking all week to our players about playing at a higher pace, playing with more urgency and intensity and I think they really did,” said UW head coach Pete Waite. ”They enjoyed doing it and they were feeding off each other on the court.”
| Fast Facts | | • Badgers improve to 4-1 on season | | • Three Badgers tally 10-or-more kills | | • Mitchell hit .650 (13-0-20) | |
The Badgers dug themselves into a 17-12 hole in the first set but rallied to cut the lead to two (19-17) behind the play of Alexis Mitchell. Mitchell had two of her set-high five kills in the run. UW cut the lead to 24-23, holding off two set points, but the Matadors had one of their five blocks to win the set.
“We made some adjustments in our rotation and also got Crystal Graff in the game,” explained Waite about the changes in the second set. “She came in and did a nice job, both offensively and defensively. She helped our ball control in the back row.”
Wisconsin carried its momentum into the second set, breaking an 8-8 tie by outscoring Northridge 12-2 to take a 20-10 lead. The third set was a near repeat of the second set with the Badgers going up 21-9.
The fourth set featured eight ties early in the set, including at 11-11. UW slowly increased its lead to five (20-15) but Northridge (2-2) pulled within 20-17. The Matadors stayed within three before a kill from Graff gave Wisconsin the match.
Graff, who played only three sets, was one of three Badgers who tallied 10-or-more kills. Bailey Reshel led all players with 15 kills while Graff and Alexis Mitchell both put away 13 kills. Mitchell hit an impressive .650 (13 kills, 0 errors, 20 attempts) and Graff hit .500 (13-2-22).
“We had a good balanced attack and the blocking started coming together as the match went on,” explained Waite.
Wisconsin combined for a season-high .340 as a team while the Matadors hit just .140. The Badgers had 65 kills, 23 more than Northridge. The Matadors were led by Natalie Allen with 13 kills.
The Badger defense improved steadily throughout the match, ending up outblocking Northridge 13-10. Mitchell finished with six blocks while Mary Ording and Courtney Thomas both added four stuffs.
UW outdug the Matadors 60-58, led by a match-high 20 digs from Annemarie Hickey. Thomas added 15 digs and recorded her first double-double of the season, putting up 42 assists.
The Badgers wrap up tournament play on Saturday, taking on host Long Beach State at 9 p.m. CT.
“Long Beach State is a very athletic team and very well coached,” said Waite. “We’re going to have to play the same way we did tonight as to overall team effort. We have to have balance, we have to have ball control and we have to stay consistent.”
