Aug. 28 W. KENTUCKY L, 1-3 Aug. 29 COLGATE W, 3-0 Aug. 29 COLL OF CHARLESTON W, 3-0 Sept. 4 vs. North Carolina W, 3-0 Sept. 5 at Louisville W, 3-1 Sept. 10 GEORGIA W, 3-0 Sept. 11 KENT STATE W, 3-0 Sept. 18 vs. Kansas State W, 3-1 Sept. 19 at Creighton W, 3-0 Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas L, 2-3 Sept. 23 at #1 Penn State L, 0-3 Sept. 27 at #12 Ohio State L, 2-3 Sept. 30 #7 ILLINOIS W, 3-1 Oct. 4 NORTHWESTERN W, 3-0 Oct. 9 at Rutgers W, 3-0 Oct. 10 at Maryland W, 3-0 Oct. 14 #11 MINNESOTA L, 2-3 Oct. 17 at #11 Minnesota L, 1-3 Oct. 23 at Iowa W, 3-0 Oct. 24 at #3 Nebraska W, 3-1 Oct. 30 #17 PURDUE W, 3-1 Nov. 1 INDIANA W, 3-0 Nov. 6 #25 MICHIGAN W, 3-0 Nov. 8 MICHIGAN STATE W, 3-0 Nov. 11 at Michigan W, 3-0 Nov. 14 IOWA W, 3-0 Nov. 18 at #18 Illinois W, 3-2 Nov. 22 #16 OHIO STATE W, 3-0 Nov. 25 RUTGERS 7 pm Nov. 28 at #14 Purdue 3 pm Dec. 4 NCAA First Round TBA Dec. 5 NCAA Second Round TBA Dec. 11 NCAA Regional TBA Dec. 12 NCAA Regional TBA Dec. 17 NCAA Semifinals TBA Dec. 19 NCAA Championship TBA 2015 Schedule 1 Lauren Carlini JR S 2 Romana Kriskova JR OH 3 Lauryn Gillis SO OH 4 Kelli Bates SO OH 5 Maddie Smith FR OH/DS 6 Taylor Morey SR L 7 Amber MacDonald FR DS 9 Hannah Juley FR S 10 Tori Blake JR MB 11 Tionna Williams FR MB 12 Julia Saunders FR OH 13 Haleigh Nelson JR MB 14 Madison Duello FR OH 15 Jordan Robbins SO S Complete Roster

BADGERS COUNT DOWN BIG TEN SEASON
ThThe No. 10 Badgers (22-6, 14-4 Big Ten) wrap up the regular season with two matches this week. Wisconsin hosts Rutgers (4-26, 1-17) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Field House. UW travels to No. 14 Purdue (22-7, 13-5) on Saturday for a 3 p.m. match from Holloway Gym in West Lafayette, Indiana.

NCAA BRACKET ANNOUNCED SUNDAY
The 64-team bracket for the 2015 NCAA Championship will be announced on Sunday at 8 p.m. live on ESPNU.
    The Badgers are 37-18 (.673) in 18 years of NCAA tournament play. Wisconsin advanced to the NCAA Louisville Regional final in 2014, losing to eventual national champion Penn State 3-1.
    Head coach Kelly Sheffield is 12-10 in 10 tournament appearances, including the last nine years in a row.

MOREY FINALIST FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Senior Taylor Morey was named a top-10 finalist for the Senior CLASS award on Friday. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
    To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
    Morey, a 5-6 libero, is the first Wisconsin volleyball player recognized since the award was begun in 2010 and the only Big Ten player in the top 10. VOTE for Taylor daily until Dec. 7
 

Match 29 | vs. RUTGERS  Date  Nov. 25 | 7 p.m.  Location  UW Field House | Madison, Wis.  Mobile App  Badger Gameday  Video  BTN Plus or BTN2Go  Live Stats  SidearmStats.com  Radio  The Mic 92.1 or iHeartRadio app  Social Media  @BadgerVB | Facebook  Tickets  Buy Tickets

 

Match 30 | at No. 14 Purdue  Date  Nov. 28 | 3 p.m. CT  Location  Holloway Gym | West Lafayette, Ind.  Mobile App  Badger Gameday  Video  Big Ten Network or BTN2Go  Live Stats  Gametracker  Radio  The Mic 92.1 or iHeartRadio app  Social Media  @BadgerVB | Facebook

NELSON NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK, DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Haleigh Nelson was named the Big Ten Player of the Week and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after putting together two outstanding matches last week.
    The 6-4 middle blocker tied her career high with a match-high 18 kills at No. 18 Illinois on Wednesday. She also hit .417 and shared match-high honors with seven blocks against the Illini. Against No. 16 Ohio State on Sunday, Nelson had a match-high 12 kills and hit .579. She again had a match-high in blocks with six stuffs and added a match-high two aces.
    On the week, Nelson averaged 3.75 kills while hitting .473. She also added 1.62 blocks, 1.00 digs and 0.25 aces per set.
    Nelson has double-figure kills in six of the last seven matches and is hitting .500 over the stretch. The 6-4 middle blocker averages 3.61 kills, 1.65 blocks, and 0.35 aces the last seven matches
    Nelson's great attacking has moved her into the lead in Big Ten-only matches, hitting .424. In all matches, she ranks third in the Big Ten with a hitting percentage of .416. She has hit better than .500 in 11 matches this season and better than .400 in 17 matches.

WIN STREAK AT 10
Wisconsin extended its winning streak to a season-best 10 matches with a 3-2 win at No. 18 Illinois on Wednesday and 3-0 sweep of No. 16 Ohio State on Sunday. It is currently tied for 13th among the longest winning streaks in the nation.
    The Badgers won 22 straight matches during the 2014 season, setting a school record for consecutive matches won.
    UW's set-winning streak came to an end at 18 after losing the second set to the Illini. Wisconsin won 26 straight sets during the 2014 Big Ten season while the school record is 33 consecutive set wins in 2000.

CARLINI COUNTING DOWN TO 1,000 DIGS
Junior Lauren Carlini needs only six digs for 1,000 in her career. The 6-1 setter will become the 16th Badger to earn a grand saves.
    She will be the third UW setter to record more than 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs, following Laura Abbinante (5,833 assists/1,246 digs) and Janelle Gabrielsen (3,426/1,118).
    On the UW career record list, Carlini already ranks fifth in assists per set (11.37), fifth in total assists (3,933) and tied for ninth in digs per set (2.87).
    She is also counting down to 4,000 career assists, needing 67. Carlini will become just the fifth Badger and 21st Big Ten setter to record 4,000 assists.

 

Match Notes Complete volleyball notes in printable PDF form

BADGERS REMAIN 10TH IN NATIONAL POLL
For the second straight week, the Badgers are ranked 10th in the AVCA Coaches Top-25 poll, released Nov. 23.
    USC (29-1) and Washington (26-2) are ranked first and second, respectively, for the second week in a row. Texas (24-2) moves up two spots to third while Minnesota (24-4) falls one place to fourth. Nebraska (24-4) moves into the top five.  
    Penn State (25-4) falls three places to seventh with the Badgers being the next Big Ten team. Purdue (22-7) moves up one position to 14th while Ohio State (22-8) stays at 16th and Illinois (19-10) remains 18th. Michigan receives votes.  Complete poll

WISCONSIN MOVES UP TO FOURTH IN NCAA RPI
The Badgers moved up three spots to fourth in the NCAA RPI, released Nov. 23. The RPI is one of the tools used by the NCAA committee to select teams to the post-season tournament.
    Texas (24-2) takes over the top spots while USC (29-1) moves up to second. Minnesota (24-4) fell to third with the Badgers coming in next. Florida (21-6) rounds out the top five.
    Nebraska (24-4) is the next Big Ten team while Penn State (25-5) falls to ninth. Ohio State (22-8) drops to 11th while Illinois (19-10) falls to 24th. Michigan (18-11) moves into the top 30. NCAA RPI

AGAINST THE TOP 25
The Badgers improved to 7-4 against top-25 team with wins at No. 18 Illinois on Nov. 18 and over No. 16 Ohio State on Sunday.
    UW picked up wins over No. 18 North Carolina, No. 7 Illinois, Nov. 3 Nebraska, No. 17 Purdue, No. 25 Michigan, No. 18 Illinois and No. 16 Ohio State. Losses came at the hands of No. 1 Penn State, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 11 Minnesota (twice).
    Wisconsin also defeated Louisville, now ranked 15th, while losing to Western Kentucky, now ranked 21st.

FINALLY WINNING IN FIVE
UW won its first five-set match of the season on Nov. 18, downing No. 18 Illinois 3-2. Wisconsin is 1-3 in five-set matches, including a 1-2 mark in Big Ten play, this season.
    The Badgers lost five-set matches to Arkansas, No. 12 Ohio State and No. 11 Minnesota.

GUTTING OUT A WIN
The Nov. 18 win at Illinois also marked the first time this season Wisconsin has won when it had a lower hitting percentage than its opponent. The Badgers hit .160 compared to the Illini at .200.
    Opponents have hit better than .200 in only nine matches this season. UW has recorded a better hitting percentage than its foes in 22 matches this season.

RACE FOR BIG TEN TITLE
The Big Ten may be the toughest it has ever been with every team having at least two conference losses. With only two matches remaining, Minnesota leads the league at 16-2 while Nebraska is a game behind at 15-3. Wisconsin and Penn State are tied for fourth at 14-4.
       Nebraska has the toughest remaining schedule, having to face two ranked teams.  2015 Big Ten Standings
 

Remaining Big Ten Schedules

	MINN	PSU	NEB	WIS
Nov. 25	#16 OSU	NU	#18 ILL	RU
Nov. 28	at IND	at #5 NEB	#7 PSU	at #14 PUR

BADGERS ON RECORD ATTENDANCE PACE
Wisconsin is on track to set a season record for attendance after five sell outs of 6,012 this season. The Badgers have drawn more than 4,000 fans in 12 of 14 homes matches this year.
    The Badgers rank third nationally with 5,036 fans per match, which would rank second all time at UW. The school record is 5,050 spectators per match, set in 2007. Wisconsin has drawn 70,498 fans this season, just the fourth time over the 70,000 mark.
    The attendance average goes up to 5,532 for Big Ten matches, which would also rank second all time. UW's record is 5,970, also set in 2007.
    Wisconsin sold out its 2015 reserved seats in the UW Field House. For the year, 2,651 season tickets were sold, an increase of nearly 1,000 tickets from 2014. The Badgers sold 1,667 season tickets in 2014.

PLAYING GREAT BALL
During their 10-match winning streak, the Badgers have put up some impressive number on offense and defense compared to their opponents.  2015 UW Statistics
 

WIS	Last 10 Matches	OPP
14.62	Kills per set	11.32
.287	Hitting %	.142
13.82	Assists per set	10.79
0.94	Service aces per set	0.71
15.32	Digs per set	13.03
2.94	Blocks per set	2.06

BADGERS MOVING UP CAREER LISTS
With 38 assists against Ohio State on Sunday, junior Lauren Carlini moved into fifth on the UW career list with 3,933 helpers. The 6-1 setter needs 143 assists to move into fourth, a position currently held by Morgan Shields (1999-2002), with 4,076 helpers. She will also become just the fifth Badger setter and 21st Big Ten setter to record 4,000 career helpers with 67 assists.
    Carlini also ranks fifth with 11.37 assists per set and has 54 double-doubles in her career, which ranks second all time. She needs seven more double-doubles to move into first, a position held by Laura Abbinante (1993-96) with 61 career double-doubles. Carlini also ties for ninth in digs per set with 2.87.
    Senior Taylor Morey also moved into fifth on the UW career record list for digs, going over 1,400 saves with 27 digs at Illinois on Nov. 18. The 5-6 libero has 1,427 saves at UW and 1,898 digs in her career. Morey needs 126 digs to move into fourth, currently held by Kim Kuzma (2007-10) with 1,553 saves. She also ranks fourth in digs per set at UW with 3.95.  
    Junior Haleigh Nelson continues to rank second in career hitting percentage at .362 and seventh in blocks per set with 1.24. The 6-4 middle blocker moved into ninth in career block assists with 407. She needs seven total blocks to move into the top 10.

FAB FRESHMAN
Freshman Tionna Williams has turned up her offense the last four matches. The 6-2 middle blocker is hitting .474, putting away 2.65 kills per set.
    She was second on the UW team on Nov. 18 with 13 kills at Illinois. It was Williams' third match this season with double-figure kills.
    Williams ranks fifth on the squad with 2.20 kills per set on the season. She leads the Badgers with 1.32 blocks per set and also ranks second with a .323 hitting percentage.  
    Williams is the top freshman in the conference in blocks per set (1.32) and hitting percentage (.323). She also ranks fifth in kills per set (2.20) among rookies.

BADGER BLOCKING DUO
Wisconsin has the best middle blocking duo in the Big Ten. Freshman Tionna Williams ranks third in the conference with 1.33 blocks per set while junior Haleigh Nelson is fourth with 1.29 blocks per set.
    The Badgers rank third in the Big Ten with 2.79 blocks per set.    

CARLINI COUNTING DOWN TO 1,000 DIGS
Junior Lauren Carlini needs just 28 digs for 1,000 in her career. The 6-1 setter will become the 16th Badger to earn a grand saves.
On the UW career record list, Carlini already ranks fifth in assists per set (11.36), sixth in total assists (3,838) and tied for eighth in digs per set (2.88).
She would be the third UW setter to record more than 3,000 assists and 1,000 digs, following Laura Abbinante (5,833 assists/1,246 digs) and Janelle Gabrielsen (3,426/1,118).

WISCONSIN IN THE NATIONAL STATS
Wisconsin ranks 12th nationally with 13.55 assists per set, according to the NCAA stats released Nov. 23. UW is also 18th in blocks per set (2.79), 21st in opponent hitting percentage (.162), 23rd in kills per set (14.23), 27th in hitting percentage (.264) and 31st in W/L percentage (.786). The Badgers rank in the top 40 in every categories except service aces and digs per set.
    Individually, Lauren Carlini is seventh nationally with 11.81 assists per set. Haleigh Nelson is 16th in hitting percentage (.416) and 36th in blocks per set (1.29). Tionna Williams is 28th in blocks per set (1.33). Taylor Morey ranks 93rd in digs per set (4.51).   National Statistics

CARLINI, BADGERS LEAD BIG TEN
Junior Lauren Carlini leads the Big Ten with 11.81 assists per set while the Badgers lead the league with 13.55 assists per set this season.
    In Big Ten-only matches, UW leads the conference in assists per set (13.41), opponent hitting percentage (.168), opponents kills per set (12.03) and opponent assists per set (11.48). Carlini also leads the league with 11.83 assists in conference play while junior Haleigh Nelson has the top hitting percentage at .424.  2015 Big Ten Statistics

COUNTING DOWN
Four Badgers are counting down to career milestones.

• Junior Lauren Carlini is 11 aces away from 100 scores and six digs away from 1,000 saves. She also needs 67 assists for 4,000 in her career.
• Freshman Amber MacDonald is just six digs away from 200 saves in her freshman season.
• Redshirt junior Romana Krišková will reach 1,100 career kills with 11 attacks.
• Senior Taylor Morey needs just two digs for 1,900 saves in her career.

I GOT THAT!
Five Badgers passed career milestones last week against Illinois and Ohio State.

• Sophomore Lauryn Gillis picked up 200th dig at UW against the Illini. She has 328 saves in her career. She also earned her 300th career kill as a Badger against Ohio State.
• Junior Romana Krišková had 10 kills against Ohio State to go over 200 putaways as a Badger.
• Senior Taylor Morey reached 1,400 digs at Illinois. She has 1,427 digs as a Badger and 1,898 saves in her career. The libero also played in her 100th match in the Cardinal and White vs. Ohio State.
• Junior Haleigh Nelson played in her 100th career match against the Buckeyes.
• Freshman Tionna Williams went over 200 kills as a freshman. She has 210 kills as a rookie.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights (4-26, 1-17) have dropped nine straight Big Ten matches after picking up their only conference win over Maryland on Oct. 21. Rutgers fell at home to No. 15 Purdue (3-1) and Michigan State (3-0) last week.
    Sophomore Meme Fletcher, a 6-1 outside hitter, leads the team with 3.66 kills per set and adds 2.52 digs per set. Junior Lauren Cloyd, a 6-3 right-side hitter, adds 2.20 kills per set. Senior Eden Frazier, a 6-2 middle blocker, has a team-best .253 hitting percentage and also leads the Knights with 0.95 blocks per set.
    Senior Anna Sudbury, a 5-10 setter, puts up 8.89 assists per set while senior Ali Schroeter, a 5-5 defensive specialist, has a team-best 3.46 digs per set.  

vs. Rutgers
Wisconsin leads 3-0
In Madison: Wisconsin leads 1-0
In 2015: The Badgers swept the Scarlet Knights on Oct. 9 in New Brunswick.
The Streak: UW has won all three meetings

#14 Purdue
The Boilermakers (22-7, 13-5) are a game behind the Badgers in the Big Ten standings. Purdue has won five straight, including a 3-1 win at Rutgers and a 3-2 upset of No. 3 Minnesota at home last weekend.
    Senior Annie Drews, a 6-4 right-side hitter, leads the team and ranks second in the Big Ten with 4.24 kills per set. Junior Faye Adelaja, a 6-1 middle blocker, adds 2.37 kills per set and ranks second on the team with 0.94 blocks per set. Adelaja hits a team-best .418. Senior Sam Epenesa, a 6-0 outside hitter, chips in 2.14 kills per set. Sophomore Danielle Cuttino, a 6-4 middle blocker, adds 2.08 kills per set while leading the team with 1.18 blocks per set.
    Sophomore Ashley Evans, a 6-1 setter, puts up 11.12 assists per set and ranks second on the squad with 2.40 digs per set. Senior Amanda Neill, a 5-8 libero, has a tem-best 3.96 digs per set.

vs. Purdue
Wisconsin leads 52-30
In West Lafayette: Purdue leads 18-16
In 2015: The Badgers downed the Boilermakers 3-1 in Madison on Oct. 30.
The Streak: Wisconsin has won five of the last six, losing in West Lafayette in five sets on Nov. 2, 2013.

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