Wisconsin Badgers
12-4, 4-2B1G
Maryland
10-10, 0-6B1G
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Maryland | 20 | 19 | 20 | 0 |
Badgers sweep Terrapins
October 10, 2015 | Volleyball
Wisconsin wins fourth-straight match
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Against a team that refused to go down without a fight, the Wisconsin volleyball team fought back even harder, as the No. 16 Badgers swept Maryland 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 on Saturday night in the XFINITY Pavilion.
Wisconsin improved to 12-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten after hitting .390 (48 kills - 9 errors - 100 total attempts). The Terrapins hit .262 (39-12-103). Sophomore Lauryn Gillis led the balanced Badger attack with a match-high 12 kills, followed by redshirt junior Romana Kriskova with 10 and sophomore Kelli Bates with nine."We battled. It goes to show you how tough this conference is that that team is 0-6," UW Head Coach Kelly Sheffield said. "It makes you feel like no lead is too big because those servers just got to the line and battled right from the start."
Kriskova, an outside hitter out of Bratislava, Slovakia, reached 1,000 career kills early in the third set and marked an impressive .588 attack percentage. Prior to joining the Badgers, Kriskova spent two seasons at VCU where she led the Rams on offense.
A 5-0 Badger run fueled by four straight kills put the Badgers up 9-5 to begin the match. Two straight service aces by junior Lauren Carlini extended the lead to 12-7, and even more sharp hitting by the Badgers forced Maryland to take a timeout at 19-13. The Terrapin offense found new life after the timeout, however, as Maryland clawed back to trail 21-18. A service error for each side brought it to 22-19, and a block by junior Haleigh Nelson and Kriskova gave the Badgers a four-point lead. Adreene Elliott of the Terrapins then retaliated with a kill, but Kriskova notched a kill of her own to bring set point. To end the set, the Badger block once again came up clutch as Carlini and freshman Tionna Williams combined for the stop.
The Badgers came out firing to start the second set, as five kills and one block by Gillis put the Badgers up 6-2. After coming up short in the first set, the Terrapins were hungry for more and came as close as 15-14 thanks to sharp hitting at the net. The Terrapins' dreams of a comeback came to a halt, however, as Nelson keyed a 4-0 Badger run behind a block and a kill to give UW a comfortable five-point cushion. An ensuing Badger service error and kill by Elliott cut the lead to 22-19, but one kill apiece from Nelson, Williams and Kriskova ended the set in dominant fashion.
Accurate hitting by the Badgers, including Kriskova's 1,000th career kill, gave UW a 9-4 lead to open the third set. A 5-0 Terrapin run, however, tied it at nine as the Badgers struggled to defend the increasingly energetic Maryland attack. Bates then regained the lead with a kill and sparked a 5-1 Badger run to bring it to 14-10. Refusing to back down, the Terrapins responded with three straight kills to trail by one. Two kills apiece by Gillis and Kriskova and a solo block by Williams then gave UW a 19-15 advantage. After a Maryland timeout, a kill by Williams and two Terrapin errors brought it to 22-16, but three quick Maryland points brought the score too close for comfort. A Terrapin service error and kill brought it to 23-20, but captains Nelson and Carlini stepped up to end it with a kill followed by a service ace, respectively.
While the Badgers may have won in three sets, a relentless Maryland team made every point a battle. On defense, the Badgers out-blocked Maryland, 9-4, and out-dug the Terps, 45-39. Freshman Tionna Williams led at the net with five blocks, while senior Taylor Morey totaled a match-high 13 digs.
Carlini highlighted her all-around performance by tying her career high of four service aces. The setter also tallied a match-high 40 assists and contributed three kills and four blocks.
The Badgers return to the Field House on Wednesday to take on Minnesota at 7 p.m. CT for a border battle.
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