| | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Illinois State
| 17 | 19 | 19 | -- | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | -- | | Stats Leaders
| | ISU | | WIS | | Niao, Rosch - 8 | Kills | Bates - 10 | | Early - 32 | Assists | Carlini - 33 | | Schneider - .238 | Hit %
| Thompson - .409 | | Orrick - 21 | Digs | Morey - 22 | | Smith - 3 | Blocks | Nelson - 6 | | None | Aces | Carlini, Thomas, Nelson, Morey, Chapman - 1 | | Stats Comparison
| ISU | WIS | | Kills | 38 | 40 | | Hitting Pct. | .131 | .240 | | Assists | 37 | 36 | | Service Aces | 0 | 5 | | Digs | 62 | 65 | | Total Blocks | 3 | 12 | | |
NCAA Tournament Central | NCAA Bracket (PDF)
Dec. 5, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -- It was an extra sweet victory for the Wisconsin volleyball team Friday night in the UW Field House. The fourth-seeded Badgers swept Illinois State 25-17, 25-19, 25-19 at home to clinch a spot in the Sweet 16 of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. It also marked the final home match for seven UW seniors.
The win moves the Badgers into their second straight NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, marking the program's 12th regional appearance overall. Wisconsin will play in the Louisville Regional on Dec. 12 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. UW's opponent will be decided on Saturday night between Kentucky and Ohio State.
| Fast Facts | | • UW advances to Sweet 16 for 12th time in program history | | • Wisconsin outblocks ISU 12-3 | | • Badgers record their 22nd sweep of the season | |
Freshman Kelli Bates led all players with 10 kills and marked a double-double with 10 digs. Senior Dominique Thompson followed with nine kills as the Badgers hit .240 (40 kills - 11 errors - 121 attempts) overall.
A tough defensive effort from Wisconsin held the Redbirds to a .131 (38-20-137) hitting percentage as the Badgers outblocked ISU 12-3 overall. Sophomore Haleigh Nelson led the squad with six stuffs, while junior Taylor Morey recorded a team-high 22 digs.
Sophomore Lauren Carlini picked up her 16th double-double of the season with 33 assists and 13 digs. She was also one of five Badgers that recorded a service ace in the match. The Redbirds failed to score from the service line.
Nelson fueled an early 4-0 run for UW with a kill and a service ace that gave Wisconsin an 8-3 in the first set. Two more service aces upped Wisconsin's lead to 20-12. A 5-2 run by ISU cut the lead to 22-17. The Badgers scored three straight, including a block by Carlini and Nelson to cap the set at 25-17.
Bates led the Badgers with five kills as the team hit .289 (14-3-38) in the period. ISU marked a .250 (13-3-40) attack percentage. Both squads recorded 20 digs, and UW put up the only block of the set.
ISU swung the momentum early in the second set, taking an 8-5 lead. But Wisconsin bounced back, to even the score at 8-8. A 6-0 UW run put the Badgers up 18-12 and they led 21-14 before three straight kills narrowed the lead 21-17. Illinois State held off one set point at 24-18 before a kill by senior Ellen Chapman sealed the 25-19 victory.
Both squads' hitting percentages dropped in the second, as ISU hit .125 (13-7-48) while Wisconsin hit .227 (14-4-44). Four different Badgers put up stuffs in the period, helping UW outblock the Redbirds 4-0.
Trailing 10-9 in the third set, UW tallied three quick blocks to key a 4-0 run, taking a 13-10 lead. ISU bounced back with a 4-0 streak of its own to knot the score at 15-15. A 17-all tie was broken by an ISU service error followed by back-to-back rockets from Thompson to give Wisconsin a 20-17 lead. The Redbirds struggled to keep the ball in the court late as three hitting errors gave the Badgers the sweep.
The Badgers tallied seven blocks in the final set, holding ISU to a .041 (12-10-49) hitting percentage. Thompson marked five kills in Wisconsin's .205 (12-4-39) attack percentage.
