| | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Iowa
| 15 | 22 | 19 | -- | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | -- | | Stats Leaders
| | IOWA | | WIS | | Janota - 10 | Kills | Thomas - 11 | | Smith - 18 | Assists | Carlini - 32 | | Dietz - .444 | Hit %
| Nelson - .545 | | Fugarino - 16 | Digs | Thomas - 13 | | Gunderson - 4 | Blocks | Thompson - 8 | | Blomberg, Smith - 1 | Aces | Carlini, Nelson - 2 | | Stats Comparison
| IOWA | WIS | | Kills | 38 | 38 | | Hitting Pct. | .140 | .245 | | Assists | 37 | 38 | | Service Aces | 2 | 6 | | Digs | 40 | 43 | | Total Blocks | 5 | 15 | | |
Oct. 22, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -- A brick wall of blocking was the key for the fifth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team Wednesday night as the Badgers swept Big Ten Conference opponent Iowa 25-15, 25-22, 25-19 at the UW Field House.
Wisconsin (17-2, 8-1) hands combined for a season-high 15 blocks in the sweep of the Hawkeyes (9-11, 1-8), bringing the Badgers’ match-winning streak to eight and set-winning streak to 16.
| Fast Facts | | • Wisconsin tallies season-high 15 blocks | | • Courtney Thomas marks fifth double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs | | • Dominique Thompson leads Badgers with eight blocks | |
Senior Dominique Thompson led the team with eight blocks, matching her career-high. Sophomore Haleigh Nelson set a new season-high block total with seven on the night, followed closely by senior Courtney Thomas, who matched her season-high with five.
Thomas logged her fifth double-double of the season, leading the Badgers in both kills and digs with 11 and 13, respectively. Freshman Kelli Bates contributed 10 kills, as Wisconsin hit .254 (38 kills – 14 errors – 98 attempts) while holding the Hawkeye hitters to a .140 (38-23-107) attack percentage.
The Badgers also dominated from the service line, recording six service aces as a team while allowing only two scores. Sophomore Lauren Carlini and Nelson served two apiece while senior Ellen Chapman and junior Taylor Morey each added one. Morey also added 10 digs to the Badger defense.
The Badgers wasted no time taking the lead, quickly marking two kills and two blocks to jump to a 6-2 advantage in the first set. The Hawkeyes put away four kills in the next eight points to narrow Wisconsin’s lead to 9-7, but kills by Thomas and Chapman were then followed by a big Badger block to send UW on a 4-0 run that pushed the score to 13-7.
Wisconsin continued its tough blocking effort, as the team’s fourth block of the game set the score at 17-12.
The Hawkeyes struggled to keep their attacks in play, as three straight hitting errors left Iowa trailing 23-14. Carlini closed the set, serving her second ace of the night to award the Badgers the 25-15 victory.
Wisconsin outblocked Iowa 4-1 in the first, led by Nelson with three blocks. Thomas marked four of the team’s 15 digs, holding the Hawkeyes to a .108 (12-8-37) hitting percentage. Thomas put away four kills in the set, as the UW offense hit .355 (12-2-31) overall.
The second set began with four tied scores as the opponents battled back-and-forth for the first eight points. With the score knotted at 4-4, Wisconsin took off on a 7-0 streak that included back-to-back Badger blocks and two line-drive kills by Bates.
Bates wouldn’t end her strike there, as the freshman sent two more rockets to the floor in the next five points to push Wisconsin to a 13-7 advantage. UW then stuffed two more Hawkeye attacks while Chapman found a hole in the defense for a service ace, extending the Badger lead to 18-10.
Iowa capitalized on three UW attack errors in the next five points to bring the score within three. Trailing 19-16, the Hawkeyes sent home six kills in the next nine points, leaving Wisconsin with a narrow 23-21 lead.
The Badger defense pushed back a Hawkeye attack to set up the team’s first set-point opportunity. An Iowa kill held off one set point but Thomas brought the crowd to its feet with the set-winning strike.
Impressive blocking numbers were again the driving force in the Badgers’ second set triumph, as Nelson and Thomas recorded four and three stuffs, respectively.
Iowa upped its hitting percentage to .158 (11-5-32) in the second, while Wisconsin’s dropped to .188 (15-9-38) behind five kills by Thomas.
Morey started the third set with a service ace, marking the team’s fifth of the night. Five Hawkeye kills in the first eight points left UW trailing 5-3, but the Badgers retaliated with an 8-0 run that featured four blocks, three kills and a service ace to create an 11-5 lead.
The Badgers kept a similar lead through the heart of the set, until Iowa launched a 5-1 run that narrowed the UW lead to 17-15. It became a battle of the hitters, as the squad’s traded kill for a kill with Wisconsin up 20-17. The Hawkeyes would score only two more points, as Thompson, Chapman and Nelson each tallied a kill to push the Badgers to a 24-19 lead. An illegal hit by Iowa was all it took, as the Badgers claimed the match with the 25-19 set win.
Continuing the nightly trend, UW outblocked Iowa 5-3 in the third and served an additional two aces to total six aces on the night. Bates led the team in the final game with four kills, as the Badgers hit .200 (14-7-35) while Iowa marked .152 (11-6-33).
Wisconsin returns to the UW Field House Sunday to take on No. 14 Nebraska in a 4 p.m. conference showdown. The match will be televised live on ESPN2.
