 | | |  | 6 Wisconsin 3, Northwestern 0
Welsh-Ryan Arena • Evanston, Ill. • Attendance: 1,104
Box Score | Box Score  |  | |
| | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | NU
| 20 | 16 | 23 | -- | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | -- | | Stats Leaders
| | NU | | WIS | | Abbott - 13 | Kills | Bates - 13 | | Tashima - 38 | Assists | Carlini - 38 | | Dutchman - .667 | Hit %
| Nelson - .545 | | Niedospial - 16 | Digs | Morey - 14 | | Akanbi - 1 | Blocks | Nelson - 5 | | Two tied - 2 | Aces | Carlini - 3 | | Stats Comparison
| NU | WIS | | Kills | 45 | 45 | | Hitting Pct. | .243 | .396 | | Assists | 44 | 44 | | Service Aces | 5 | 4 | | Digs | 45 | 46 | | Total Blocks | 1.0 | 6.5 | | |
Oct. 1, 2014
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The No. 6-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team hit, served and blocked its way to its second straight Big Ten Conference win Wednesday night. The Badgers swept Northwestern 25-20-25-16, 25-23 at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
The Badgers (11-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) were unstoppable at the net, tallying a .396 (45 kills - 5 errors - 101 attempts) attack percentage with four different players hitting better than 40 percent. Freshman Kelli Bates shared match-high honors with 13 kills, while sophomore Haleigh Nelson recorded a team-best .545 (8-2-11) hitting percentage.
| Fast Facts | | • Wisconsin moves to 11-2 on the season, 2-1 in the Big Ten | | • Lauren Carlini matches her season-high with three aces | | • Badgers outblock Wildcats 6.5-1 | |
Wisconsin had five players with seven-or-more kills as Ellen Chapman (9), Nelson (8), Courtney Thomas (7) and Dominique Thompson (7) provided a balanced offense.
Tough defense by Wisconsin held Northwestern (12-2, 2-1) to a .243 (45-17-115) attack percentage, as the Badgers outblocked the Wildcats 6.5-1.0. NU was led by Symone Abbott with 13 kills.
NU served five aces in the match, one more than Wisconsin. Lauren Carlini had three of the Badgers' aces as UW had only three service errors. The Wildcats served six service errors in the loss.
Carlini marked her eighth double-double of the season with 38 assists and 11 digs. Junior Taylor Morey led the Badgers in digs, recording 14 of the team's 46.
A Badger block and a kill by Thompson followed an NU service error to put Wisconsin on a 3-0 run to start the match. But NU responded with a 4-1 run to knot the set at 4-4. The Wildcats served their third ace of the set to take an 8-5 advantage. Wisconsin narrowed the score to 9-7 before Carlini stepped to the service line. Carlini, served three aces in the next four points, putting Wisconsin on a 4-0 run to take an 11-9 lead.
The Badgers went up 16-13 on an NU service error, but a bad serve of their own kept the Wildcats within two. Two tied scores later, both sides of the scoreboard showed 19. But the rest of the set belonged to UW as Thomas brought the squad to its first and only set point with her third kill of the set. Bates followed suit, sending the set-winning kill to the floor.
Wisconsin hit a .481 (14-1-27) in the first set, led by Bates with four kills. NU served four aces in the period, while Carlini tallied all three of UW's aces. Both teams finished the set with 12 digs and one block.
The Badger offense returned to the court on fire in the second set, as UW broke a 3-3 tie as a pair of kills and a Badger block put Wisconsin up 8-5. Nelson took over the next four rallies, getting in on two Badger blocks and putting away two kills to put UW up 11-5 before the Wildcats called a timeout.
A pair of Nelson kills finished a 7-0 run by Wisconsin before an NU kill left the score at 15-6. The Badgers maintained a nine-point advantage, putting UW up 22-13 after its fourth block of the set. NU battled for three more points, but an attack error by the Wildcats awarded Wisconsin a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Badger defense outshone the Wildcats in the second set, outblocking NU 4.5-zero. UW dug up 20 NU kill attempts, and held Northwestern to a .079 (9-6-38) attack percentage.
The final set started off close with 10 early ties, including at 11-11. Chapman pitched in three kills in the 5-0 UW run that followed, leaving the Badgers with the 16-12 lead. A combination of NU attack errors and two Nelson putaways extended UW's lead to eight (21-13).
Additional kills by Bates, Thompson and senior Julie Mikaelsen put the Badgers just two points away from their second conference win of the season. But the Wildcats resisted defeat, taking the next four points on kills before Bates could set up UW's first match point with a kill of her own.
NU held off the Badgers for five match points, all on successful kills. But it was Bates to the rescue again, as the freshman tallied her final kill of the night to seal the Wisconsin triumph.
Bates led the Badgers with six kills in the final set, while Chapman and Nelson chipped in four and three, respectively. Wisconsin outblocked NU, 1-1.
The Badgers continue Big Ten play on Saturday, as Wisconsin travels to Huff Hall in Champaign, Illinois, to face No. 16 Illinois in a 7 p.m. match-up.
