 | | |  | 19 Wisconsin 3, 14 Ohio State 2
St. John Arena • Columbus, Ohio • Attendance: 1,342
Box Score | Box Score  |  | |
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Wisconsin
| 20 | 26 | 23 | 25 | 15 | Ohio State
| 25 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 10 | | Stats Leaders
| | WIS | | OSU | | Thomas - 19 | Kills | Leary - 17 | | Carlini - 40 | Assists | Sherwin - 46 | | Thomas - .261 | Hit %
| Sandbothe - .267 | | Hickey - 20 | Digs | DiSalvatore - 18 | | Thompson - 8 | Blocks | Sandbothe - 7 | | Morales - 3 | Aces | Leon - 3 | | Stats Comparison
| WIS | OSU | | Kills | 52 | 56 | | Hitting Pct. | .161 | .139 | | Assists | 51 | 53 | | Service Aces | 8 | 5 | | Digs | 62 | 72 | | Total Blocks | 14.5 | 10 | | |
Oct. 11, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio-- For the third time this season, the Wisconsin volleyball team defeated a top-20 ranked opponent. The 19th-ranked Badgers came back from a 2-1 deficit in the match to down No. 14 Ohio State in Columbus Friday night. The Badgers took a 20-25, 26-24, 23-25, 25-21, 15-10 decision to improve to 15-2 overall and remain in third place in the Big Ten Conference at 4-1. This win marks the team's first victory in Columbus since 2011.
"It's hard to win on the road in this conference and go on the road against a really good team," said first-year head coach Kelly Sheffield. "We didn't play well at all, but to go in and win on somebody else's court when you're not playing well, it's something our team needs to feel good about."
| Fast Facts | | • Courtney Thomas tallies a career-high 19 kills and 12 digs for a double-double | | • Team recorded season-high 14.5 blocks | | • Third top-20 opponent Wisconsin has beaten this season | |
After losing the first set, the Badgers battled back, taking the second set before losing the third. Trailing 2-1, Wisconsin took the fourth set and finished off the Buckeyes in five.
Wisconsin took a 3-0 lead to begin the first set, but the score was tied up six times thereafter. Ohio State jumped ahead to lead by five at 18-13 and did not look back. Despite five kills from junior Deme Morales, the Buckeyes took set one, led by eight kills from senior Kaitlyn Leary.
Wisconsin jumped ahead to 5-0 lead behind serve of senior Annemarie Hickey in the second set and never trailed. The Badgers led 22-16 before the Buckeyes went on a 8-2 run to tie the set at 24 after hosting off two set points. An ace from Morales and solo block from freshman Lauren Carlini sealed the win for the Badgers.
In the third set, Wisconsin pulled ahead and took a 12-7 lead, but Ohio State was able to tie up the score at 13-13 and eventually take the lead at 15-14 with an 8-2 run. The Buckeyes went on to win the third set 25-23 despite being out-blocked 3-2 and out-hit by the Badgers.
Set four was decided by defense as the Badgers put up 4.5 blocks compared to just two by the Buckeyes. Despite hitting just .062 (8 kills - 6 errors - 32 attempts), Wisconsin's subpar offense was helped out by a negative .061 (10-12-33) attack percentage from Ohio State.
The Badgers commanded the fifth set, taking a 5-1 lead with the help of an ace and kill by junior Ellen Chapman. Two more service aces by Morales made the Badgers' lead 10-5. OSU cut the lead to 12-9 before kills from Thomas and Morales gave UW its first match point. The Buckeyes held off one match point but an OSU service error gave UW the win.
Overall, Wisconsin recorded a .161 attack percentage (52-26-161) compared to .139 (55-33-166) from Ohio State.
The Badger offense was led by three juniors putting up double-figure kills. Courtney Thomas racked up a career-high 19 kills, followed by Chapman with 11 and Morales with 10.
"I thought Courtney was really good tonight," said Sheffield of Thomas' performance. "Not just hitting. I thought her defense, stepping in in transition, blocking. I thought her block really did a lot better job on Leary as the match went on."
Defense was the name of the game, as blocks gave Wisconsin the edge. The Badgers put up a season-high 14.5 blocks against 10 from Ohio State, backed by career-high eight stuffs from junior Dominique Thompson. Thomas tied her career best with six blocks.
Four UW players recorded double-digit digs. Senior Annemarie Hickey led all players with 20 saves. Thomas (12), Morales (11) and Carlini (10) rounded out the defense with double figures.
Three Badgers recorded double-doubles this match. Thomas (19 kills and 12 digs) recorded her eighth double-double of the season. Carlini (40 assists and 10 digs) tallied her 10th double-double, and Morales (10 kills and 11 digs) chalked up her seventh of the season.
Wisconsin recorded eight service aces in the match, including three in the decisive fifth set. Morales tied her career best with three aces, including two in the fifth set.
"Sometimes you've got to get in the mud and wrestle, and we were willing to do that tonight."
The Buckeyes were led by Leary, who put away 17 kills.
The Badgers wrap up a four-match road swing at No. 4 Penn State on Saturday in University Park, Pa. First serve is at 7:30 p.m. from Rec Hall.
