Wisconsin Badgers
Minnesota
Completing the sweep: Badgers bury Gophers for second time this week
October 18, 2014 | Volleyball
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Oct. 18, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin volleyball team claimed both of this season’s Border Battles as the fifth-ranked Badgers (16-2, 7-1) swept No. 23 Minnesota for the second time this week in front of a sell-out crowd Saturday night at the UW Field House.
The 25-19, 25-15, 25-18 victory follows a three-set win over the Gophers (13-6, 3-5) last Wednesday, and marks Wisconsin’s seventh-straight win in the Big Ten Conference.
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Wisconsin recorded a .224 (36 kills – 12 errors – 107 attempts) hitting percentage overall, led by senior Dominique Thompson at .667 (6-0-9). Sophomore Haleigh Nelson and senior Ellen Chapman each put away a team-best 10 kills, while sophomore Lauren Carlini led all players with 28 assists.
Nelson also led the Badgers with six blocks, matching her season-high as Wisconsin outblocked the Gophers, the Big Ten’s top blocking team, 9-5. Both teams recorded 53 digs as Taylor Morey led UW with a match-high 20 saves. Courtney Thomas added 12 digs.
Four different Badgers recorded service aces, as Carlini served two while senior Courtney Thomas, junior Taylor Morey and Chapman each marked one.
The Badgers led 8-5 in the first set before two Minnesota service aces followed a string of Badger mistakes left the score tied at 10-10. UM continued to push, putting up two kills and a third ace to take a 14-11 lead. The Gophers held on to a three-point lead at 18-16 before Wisconsin went on a 10-1 run to close the set. Two big Badger blocks keyed an 8-0 run for the win.
Wisconsin hit .312 (14-4-32) in the first set, led by Nelson and Chapman with six kills apiece. The Badgers outblocked UM 2-1 in a defensive effort that held the Gophers to a .059 (10-8-34) hitting percentage.
UW jumped to a 4-1 lead early in the second set but two UW attack errors and a service error left the teams even at 4-4. The score would be tied three more times, but at 7-7 three different Badger hitters put away kills to send the team on a 4-0 run.
Wisconsin saw another 4-0 streak soon after as a service ace by Morey pushed UW to a 17-9 advantage. The Gophers cut the lead to five (17-12) but two team blocks set up the Badgers’ first set point. Thompson ended the set, sending a line-drive through the Minnesota defense to mark a 25-15 win for Wisconsin.
Both squads dropped in attack percentage in the second set, as the Badgers hit .143 (10-5-35) compared to the Gophers’ negative .105 (6-10-38). UW put up five blocks in the game, led by Nelson and Thomas with four and three block assists, respectively.
Carlini, Chapman and Morey each served an ace in the second set, while Minnesota marked one ace.
Minnesota’s Sarah Wilhite put away three kills to send the Gophers on a 4-0 run to start the third set. UM kept Wisconsin on the defensive, as two blocks and four more kills extended the Minnesota lead to 10-5.
The balanced Badger offense stepped up its game, as four different hitters put up kills to send Wisconsin on an 8-1 run that left UW leading 13-11. UW would steadily increase its lead as Thompson put away two kills, putting the Badgers up 21-17. Two straight attack errors by the Gophers gave Wisconsin the sweep.
The Gophers hit a match-high .093 (12-8-43) in the final set, while the Badgers increased their attack percentage to .225 (12-3-40) behind four kills from both Nelson and Thompson. Each squad put up two blocks in the third set.
The Badgers resume Big Ten play on Wednesday as they host Iowa in a 7 p.m. match-up at the UW Field House.
