| | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Nebraska
| 19 | 21 | 18 | -- | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | -- | | Stats Leaders
| | NEB | | WIS | | Rolfzen - 10 | Kills | Thomas - 10 | | Pollmiller - 29 | Assists | Carlini - 34 | | Haggerty - .286 | Hit %
| Carlini - .643 | | Wong-Orantes - 15 | Digs | Morey - 29 | | Haggerty - 3 | Blocks | Carlini - 5 | | Rolfzen, Townsend, Albrecht - 1 | Aces | Carlini, Workman, Morey - 1 | | Stats Comparison
| NEB | WIS | | Kills | 37 | 46 | | Hitting Pct. | .143 | .265 | | Assists | 37 | 43 | | Service Aces | 3 | 3 | | Digs | 51 | 56 | | Total Blocks | 8 | 6 | | |
Oct. 26, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -- The last time Wisconsin beat Nebraska in volleyball, the current players weren’t even born. In fact, their parents were probably still in grade school. But this Badger team made history on Sunday afternoon as fifth-ranked Wisconsin swept No. 14 Nebraska 25-19, 25-21, 25-18 in front of a sell-out crowd at the UW Field.
The win marks the first time since 1978 that UW (18-2 overall, 9-1 Big Ten) has downed the Huskers, snapping a 17-match losing streak to the Big Ten Conference foe. The sweep also marks 19-straight set victories for Wisconsin, and extends the team’s match winning streak to nine.
| Fast Facts | | • Wisconsin defeats Nebraska for first time since 1978 | | • Setter Lauren Carlini tallies career-high nine kills and season-high five blocks | | • Match played in front of fourth sell-out crowd at the UW Field House this season | |
Wisconsin bested the conference rival in every category, outblocking the Huskers 8-6 and making 56 digs to Nebraska’s 51. UW recorded a .265 (46 kills – 15 errors – 117 attempts) hitting percentage overall, while Nebraska hit .143 (37-20-119).
Senior Courtney Thomas led the offensive strike with 10 kills, followed by sophomore Lauren Carlini with a career-high nine kills. Senior Ellen Chapman followed suit with eight, while freshman Kelli Bates contributed seven.
Carlini shone on both the offensive and the defensive ends, leading all players with 34 assists and a season-high five blocks. She also marked her 25th service ace on the season in the effort.
Junior Taylor Morey also put up impressive numbers at libero, matching her career-high with 29 digs, breaking her own UW three-set match record for saves. The 5-5 libero had 26 digs at Colorado State on Sept. 6. Morey added the match-winning service ace as both teams finished with three scores.
A pair of kills and a service ace pushed Nebraska to a 4-1 lead to begin the match. But Wisconsin quickly turned the tables, as it went on an 8-1 run that included five Badger kills. Leading 9-5, the Badgers had three attack errors that narrowed their lead to 10-9.
Leading 18-17, back-to-back kills by Thomas and Bates jump-started a 7-2 Wisconsin streak that brought the first set to a close for UW. Senior Caroline Workman had an ace before Carlini threw down a setter dump to take the first set 25-19.
Wisconsin hit .234 (17-6-47) in the first period, led by Thomas and Carlini with five and four kills, respectively. The Badgers outblocked Nebraska 2-1, and Morey made a team-best 13 saves to help hold the Huskers to a .133 (12-6-45) hitting percentage.
The second set was knotted at 4-4 before two Nebraska blocks and a service ace helped lift the Huskers to a 10-7 lead. The Badger block then kicked in, as three stuffs in the next seven points knotted the score at 12-12.
Five different Badgers tallied kills in the next 10 points to create a 19-15 advantage but the Huskers retaliated with a 4-0 run that left an excited Field House crowd looking at a 19-19 score. Two Wisconsin kills combined with two Nebraska attack errors to give the Badgers a 23-20 lead. Nebraska’s Amber Rolfzen put away a rocket, but an out-of-bounds serve by Nebraska on the next play awarded UW the set point opportunity. Carlini again made the most of it, as the setter served an ace to claim the second set 25-21.
Wisconsin’s hitting percentage increased to .270 (14-4-37) in the second, while Nebraska upped its hitting to .167 (13-7-36) as well. Both teams put up four blocks, with Carlini recording a team-high three. Morey continued her impressive digging with seven, but the Huskers outdug UW 17-13 in the period.
The Badgers took a quick 3-1 lead in the third set that they would never relinquish. Five different UW players combined for six kills to set the score at 11-9. A 7-1 Wisconsin run followed, as Thomas and Nelson each drove two kills to the opposite floor. Trailing 18-10, the Huskers managed to take the next four points before ending the run with a service error.
A big Badger block resulted in a 21-15 lead and a Carlini kill set up Wisconsin’s first match-point. One chance was all the Badgers needed, as Morey brought the Field House crowd to its feet with an ace to earn the 25-18 set victory.
Wisconsin’s hitting percentage soared to .303 (15-5-33) in the final set, while a tough defensive showing dropped Nebraska’s percentage to .132 (12-7-38). UW made two blocks to the Huskers’ one, and outdug Nebraska 18-12 in the period.
The Badgers will be on the road for their next four matches, beginning with a 6:30 p.m. match Wednesday against conference opponent Purdue at the Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Ind. That match airs live on the Big Ten Network.
