| | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Ohio State
| 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | -- | Wisconsin
| 19 | 19 | 17 | -- | -- | | Stats Leaders
| | OSU | | WIS | | Mitchell - 9 | Kills | Thomas - 11 | | Sherwin - 23 | Assists | Carlini - 36 | | Mitchell - .206 | Hit %
| Thompson - .391 | | Winner - 18 | Digs | Morey - 22 | | Randall, Mitchell - 2 | Blocks | Nelson - 4 | | Schirmer, Sherwin, Campbell, Heim - 1 | Aces | Carlini - 2 | | Stats Comparison
| OSU | WIS | | Kills | 37 | 45 | | Hitting Pct. | .123 | .266 | | Assists | 36 | 43 | | Service Aces | 4 | 4 | | Digs | 55 | 61 | | Total Blocks | 4 | 7 | | |
Sept. 28, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 5 Wisconsin volleyball team marked its first Big Ten Conference victory of the season Sunday as the Badgers (10-2, 1-1) swept Ohio State 25-19, 25-19, 25-17 in the UW Field House.
Wisconsin won the match with a balanced offense and tough defense.
Senior Courtney Thomas recorded her third double-double of the season with a team-high 11 kills while adding 10 digs. Wisconsin tallied 61 digs to Ohio State’s 55, led by junior Taylor Morey with a match-high 22.
| Fast Facts | | • Wisconsin claims first Big Ten victory of the season (1-1) | | • Courtney Thomas marks double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs | | • UW's overall season record moves to 10-2 | |
Senior Dominique Thompson added 10 kills and hit a team-best .391 (10 kills – 1 error – 23 attempts) as the Badgers hit .266 percent (45-11-128) as a team.
UW outblocked OSU 7-4, keeping the Buckeyes (9-5, 0-2) hitting percentage to .123 (37-21-130). Sophomore Haleigh Nelson put up four blocks in the effort, while Thomas and Thompson each added three.
Senior Ellen Chapman added nine kills to the Badger offense while Nelson (7) and Bates (6) also chipped in. Ohio State was led by Katie Mitchell with nine kills.
A pair of kills and a big Badger block put Wisconsin on a 3-0 run early in the first set, as the team claimed a 6-3 lead it would not relinquish. UW maintained a four-point lead before three consecutive kills by three different Badgers widened Wisconsin’s advantage to 19-13.
Three straight Buckeye errors and an ace by sophomore Lauren Carlini capped off a four-point streak and 23-15 lead for the Badgers. But OSU wouldn’t go down easy, as the Buckeyes claimed the next four points. Following a Wisconsin timeout, an OSU service error awarded UW a set point. Bates took advantage of the opportunity, sending over a line-drive to earn the 25-19 win.
Thompson led the Badger attack, marking a .571 (4-0-7) hitting percentage in the first set. Thomas and Nelson each added three kills, helping the squad to hit a .217 (14-4-46). OSU recorded a .095 (10-6-42) attack percentage.
The second set started in similar fashion, with both teams taking a couple points before the Badgers claimed four straight points to take an 8-3 lead. The conference rivals alternated kills, bringing the score to 14-11 in favor of the Cardinal and White.
OSU’s Luisa Schirmer led a Buckeye retaliation, claiming two of five OSU kills that narrowed the UW advantage to 18-15. That was as close as Ohio State would get as three different Badgers tallied kills before Nelson put away the set-winning hit with a rocket through the OSU defense that awarded UW the 25-19 win.
The Badgers outblocked OSU 2-0 in the second, and tallied 18 digs to the Buckeyes’ 13. Thompson tallied another five kills in the set, as Wisconsin marked a .306 (14-3-36) hitting percentage. OSU increased its attack percentage to .128 (15-9-47) in the second.
The Badgers came out on fire in the third, taking a quick seven points before OSU’s Kylie Randall put the Buckeyes on the board with a kill. UW followed with two big blocks to increase the gap to 11-1. The Buckeyes later managed a four-point run of their own before Thomas halted it with a hard shot through the OSU defense, leaving the score at 18-9.
The Buckeyes went on a 4-0 run late in the set on a service ace and three kills, keeping the Badgers to a 23-17 advantage. Wisconsin closed the set as Thomas and Bates each marked a kill to claim the quick 25-17 set.
The Badgers return to the court Wednesday in first Big Ten road trip as they travel to Northwestern at the Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. The match begins at 7 p.m.
