Friday, September 23
Madison, WI
7 PM
Wisconsin Badgers
vs
Ohio State
Photo by: Greg Anderson
This Week in Badger Volleyball: Sept. 19-25
September 21, 2016 | Volleyball
Wisconsin opens Big Ten season at home
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No. 3 Wisconsin (8-1, 0-0) opens the Big Ten Conference season at home, hosting No. 17 Ohio State (10-2, 0-0) and Maryland (8-4, 0-0). The Badgers and Buckeyes face off on Friday at 7 p.m. while UW and Maryland play on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches are in the UW Field House.
PROMOTIONS
Steve Lowe Night—Friday vs. Ohio State - 7 p.m.
- The Badgers celebrate the 25th-annual Steve Lowe Night in their Big Ten home opener vs. Ohio State on Friday. Lowe, who was UW's head coach from 1986-90, led Wisconsin to its first Big Ten title, first national ranking, first NCAA tournament appearance, first Big Ten Player of the Year, and first All-American. Senior Tori Blake will be recognized in a pre-match ceremony as the recipient of the Steve Lowe Memorial Scholarship.
- Bring your football ticket stub from either the Akron or Georgia State games and receive a general admission ticket for only $2! Subject to availability on day of match only at the door.
Saturday vs. Maryland - 7 p.m.
- Bring your football ticket stub from either the Akron or Georgia State games and receive a general admission ticket for only $2! Subject to availability on day of match only at the door.
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QUICK NOTES
- The Badgers are 20-14 in Big Ten openers, dating back to 1982, including a 12-6 mark at home. In 2015, Wisconsin opened the conference season with a 3-0 loss at then-No. 1 Penn State.
- UW puts its 12-match Big Ten winning streak on the line this weekend. The Badgers have also won 11 straight home matches, including seven straight in Big Ten play. Wisconsin had a 9-1 home conference record in 2015, with its only loss coming to then-No. 11 Minnesota.Â
- Wisconsin wrapped up the non-conference season with two road wins at ranked opponents. The Badgers swept No. 16 Texas A&M last Friday before coming from behind to upset No. 2 Texas, 3-2, on Sunday.
- Freshman Molly Haggerty was named the AVCA National Player of the Week, ESPNW National Player of the Week, Big Ten Player of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 5.88 kills and 2.25 digs per set on the weekend. The 6-1 outside hitter set a UW record with 27 kills in only three sets against the Aggies. She recorded back-to-back 20-plus kill matches with 20 putaways against the Longhorns while picking up her third career double-double, adding 14 digs. Haggerty also had a career-high four service aces at Texas.Â
- Sophomore Tionna Williams was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, averaging 1.75 blocks per set on the weekend. She had a season-high eight blocks against Texas.
- Senior Haleigh Nelson picked up career block No. 500 at Texas on Sunday. She became the seventh Badger and 41st Big Ten athlete to reach 500 career blocks.
- Senior Lauren Carlini set a school record with 62 career double-doubles at Texas on Sunday. The 6-2 setter had 54 assists and 11 digs to surpass the previous mark of 61 double-doubles set by Laura Abbinante from 1993-96.
- Wisconsin leads the Big Ten with 16.31 digs per set and ranks second with 3.28 blocks per set. Only two opponents have hit better than .200 against the Badgers this season.
BADGERS MOVE UP TO THIRD IN NATIONAL POLL
Following their upset win at No. 2 Texas, the Badgers moved up three spots to third in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches' poll released Sept. 19.
    Nebraska (9-0) has been ranked first in the poll all season long, earning all 64 first-place votes. Minnesota (8-1) moves up one place to second while Washington (10-0) jumps up to fourth. Texas (8-2) falls to fifth.
    The Big Ten has a total of eight teams in last week's poll. In addition to the top-three teams, Purdue (10-1) jumps up four spots to 10th. Ohio State (10-2) moves up two places to 17th while Penn State (8-3) also takes a two-place jump to 18th. Michigan State (11-1) comes in 20th while Michigan (11-1) is ranked 22nd this week. Illinois is the third team receiving votes this week after being ranked 21st last week. Entire AVCA Top 25 Poll
BIG TEN OPENERS
The Badgers are 20-14 in Big Ten Conference openers, including a 12-6 mark at home. Head coach Kelly Sheffield is 1-2 in conference openers at Wisconsin with his only win coming in 2013.
    Wisconsin dropped its 2015 conference opener, falling 3-0 on the road at then-No. 1 Penn State. All records date back to 1982 when women's athletics were officially added to the conference.
GREAT NON-CONFERENCE SEASON
Wisconsin wrapped up the non-conference season with an 8-1 mark after two road wins at ranked opponents last weekend. The Badgers swept No. 16 Texas A&M on Friday before coming from behind to upset No. 2 Texas, 3-2, on Sunday.
    UW has played seven teams that were ranked or receiving votes at the time of the match. In addition to No. 2 Texas, UW played then-No. 6 Hawai'i, then-No. 11 North Carolina, No. 16 Texas A&M, and then-No. 18 San Diego as well as Arizona and Louisville, who were receiving votes.
    In non-conference play, Wisconsin went 8-2 in 2015, 9-1 in 2014 and 11-1 in 2013.
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The Badgers have won 11 straight home matches dating back to the 2015 season. Wisconsin has also won seven straight Big Ten home matches, losing to then-No. 11 Minnesota on Oct. 14, 2015.
    UW has won 12-straight Big Ten matches dating back to Oct. 17, 2015, when it lost at then-No. 11 Minnesota.
HAGGERTY NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Freshman Molly Haggerty had a career weekend in Texas, averaging 5.88 kills and 2.25 digs per set while hitting .387. She was named the AVCA National Player of the Week, ESPNW National Player of the Week, Big Ten Player of the Week and Big Ten Freshman of the Week for her performances.
    Haggerty is just the fourth Badger and first UW freshman to be named AVCA National Player of the Week. She joins Lizzy Fitzgerald (Sept. 4, 2001 and Sept. 25, 2000); Jenny Maastricht (Oct. 30, 2000); and Jackie Simpson (Oct. 31, 2006) as Wisconsin's national players of the week.
    The 6-1 outside hitter set a UW record with 27 kills in only three sets at No. 16 Texas A&M. The mark shattered the school record of 19 kills for three sets in a 25-point rally-scored match and tied the overall record for five sets with 27 putaways.
    She recorded back-to-back 20-plus kill matches with 20 putaways at No. 2 Texas while picking up her third career double-double, adding 14 digs. Haggerty also had a career-high four service aces against the Longhorns, including one is the fifth set to pull the Badgers within one point (14-13).
    On the season, Haggerty leads the Badgers and ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 4.00 kills per set. She leads all freshmen in the Big Ten in kills per set and ranks sixth with a .243 hitting percentage.Â
WILLIAMS EARNS DEFENSIVE HONOR
Sophomore Tionna Williams picked up her second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor on Monday. She led the Badger defense on the weekend, averaging 1.75 blocks per set. The 6-2 middle blocker had a match-high six blocks against Texas A&M and a season-high eight blocks at Texas. Williams also added 1.75 kills per set, tallying kills at 11 kills Texas while hitting .343 on the weekend.
    The Fort Wayne, Indiana, native is a four-time defensive player of the week, also earning the award on Aug. 29, 2016.
    On the season, Williams leads the Badgers and ranks third in the Big Ten with 1.71 blocks per set. She leads the team with a .349 hitting percentage and ranks fourth with 2.23 kills per set. Williams has recorded four-or-more blocks in all nine matches this season. .
CARLINI SETS SCHOOL RECORD
Senior Lauren Carlini set a school record with 62 career double-doubles at Texas on Sunday. The 6-2 setter had 54 assists and 11 digs to surpass the previous mark of 61 double-doubles set by Laura Abbinante from 1993-96. Â
    Freshman Molly Haggerty picked up her third double-double of the season with 20 kills and 14 digs against the Longhorns.
    Junior Kelli Bates earned her 20th career double-double and second of the season with 15 kills and 15 digs at Texas. Â
    On the season, Wisconsin players have 11 double-doubles.
CARLINI NO. 1 AMONG ACTIVE SETTERS
Senior Lauren Carlini leads the national active career leaders list with 4,531 assists. She also ranks third with 11.44 assists per set.
Senior Haleigh Nelson is third nationally with 504 total blocks, tied for ninth in matches played with 114, 12th with 1.24 blocks per set, 16th with a career hitting percentage of .364 and 24th with 408 sets.
   In this season's national statistics, sophomore Tionna Williams ranks sixth with 1.71 blocks per set. She is also 113th in hitting percentage at .349. Senior Lauren Carlini ranks sixth in the nation with 11.66 assists per set.
Senior Haleigh Nelson is 30th nationally with 1.38 blocks per set. She is also 140th with a .335 hitting percentage. Freshman Molly Haggerty comes in 53rd in kills per set with 4.00. She is also 64th in points per set (4.43).
Junior Kelli Bates ranks 108th in the nation with 4.31 digs per set.
    As a team, Wisconsin ranks fourth in blocks per set (3.28); seventh in opponent hitting percentage (.140); 16th in digs per set (16.38); 17th in win/loss percentage (.889); 18th in assists per set (13.31); 28th in kills per set (14.09); and 72nd in hitting percentage (.245). All NCAA Statistics
NELSON EARNS 500TH CAREER BLOCK
Senior Haleigh Nelson picked the 500th block of her career at Texas on Sunday. The 6-4 middle blocker earned the mark in the fourth set, when she teamed with Molly Haggerty on a block assist to make the score 4-4. Haggerty has 504 stuffs in her fourth season, becoming the 41st Big Ten athlete and seventh UW player to record 500 blocks.
    She needs 19 blocks to move into sixth at Wisconsin, currently held by Lisa Boyd (1987-9) with 523 blocks. Nelson moved into fifth in block assists (459) and also ranks seventh in blocks per set (1.24) at UW. She also ranks second in career hitting percentage at .364.
TOUGH DEFENSE
Wisconsin has held seven of nine opponents this season to a hitting percentage under .200, including three foes under .100. UW leads the Big Ten with 16.31 digs per set while ranking second with 3.28 blocks per set. Â
    The Badgers have outdug eight of nine opponents this season while tying one foe. UW is averaging 2.0 digs per set more than their foes (17.38 - 14.35). Wisconsin is also outblocking opponents 105.0–78.5 (3.28/set to 2.45/set) on the season.
IT'S ALL ABOUT THE BATES
Junior Kelli Bates has recorded double-figure digs in eight of nine matches this season. The 5-11 Bates started the first five matches at libero, tallying a career-high 22 digs at Hawaii. She also had 20 digs at Arizona and 20 saves at North Carolina.
    With the injury to Lauryn Gillis, Bates moved to outside hitter for the last four matches, picking up two double-doubles. She had 10 kills and 14 digs vs. Louisville and 15 kills and 15 digs at Texas. Bates ranks third int he Big Ten with 4.31 digs per set.
CAN'T DODGE M.E.
Freshman M.E. Dodge continues to improve in her role as libero. The 5-10 defensive specialist missed much of preseason training and the first three matches of the season with a knee injury. Dodge returned to the court for the HotelRED Invitational, playing a defensive specialist role.
    She took over the libero position at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge due to the injury to Lauryn Gillis. Dodge had 14 digs at North Carolina and a career-high 19 digs in just three sets against Louisville. Last weekend, Dodge had nine digs at Texas A&M and 12 saves at Texas. In the four matches she has started at libero, Dodge is averaging 3.38 digs per set. On the season, she is averaging 2.73 digs per set for third on the team and fourth among Big Ten freshmen. Â
NOD TO DODD
Freshman Sarah Dodd has made a big impression from the service line this season. The 5-4 defensive specialist had a career-high two service aces at Texas on Sunday, recording her fourth and fifth aces of the season.
    Dodd ties for third on the UW team this season with five aces, averaging 0.17 per set.
IRON BADGERS
Senior Haleigh Nelson has played in all 114 matches of her Badger career. The 6-4 middle blocker has also played in 408 of 411 sets in her career.
Junior Kelli Bates has played in all 76 matches and all 265 sets as a Badger.
Sophomores Tionna Williams and Amber MacDonald have both played in all 42 sets at Wisconsin. MacDonald has also played in all 149 sets. Â
BADGERS LEAD THE BIG TEN
As a team, Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in digs per set (16.31). The Badgers are also second in blocks per set (3.28), fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.140), and fifth in assists per set (13.28). Â
    Individually sophomore Tionna Williams ranks third with 1.71 block per set while senior Haleigh Nelson is seventh with 1.38 blocks per set. Senior Lauren Carlini ranks second with 11.66 assists per set. Junior Kelli Bates is fourth with 4.31 digs per set. Freshman Molly Haggerty is seventh with 4.00 kills per set while junior Lauryn Gillis ranks 11th with 3.44 kills per set.. All Big Ten Statistics
CAREER HIGHS SET
Four Badgers set or tied personal bests last weekend in Texas.
- Junior Kelli Bates tied her career high with five assists at Texas A&M.
- Freshman Sarah Dodd had a career best two service aces against Texas.
- Sophomore Tionna Williams tied her career high with eight blocks against the Longhorns.
- Freshman Molly Haggerty recorded five career bests on the weekend. She had 27 kills, a .641 hitting percentage and 27 points at Texas A&M. The outside hitter also had 54 attack attempts and four service aces at Texas.
I GOT THAT!
Five Badgers surpassed career milestones last weekend in the Longhorn state.
- Junior Kelli Bates picked up career dig No. 700 at Texas A&M on Friday. She has 723 saves in her third season.
- Senior Lauren Carlini went over 300 career blocks at Texas A&M. She has 310 blocks in her fourth season.
- Freshman Molly Haggerty earned her 100th career kill at Texas on Sunday. She has 116 kills in her rookie season.
- Senior Haleigh Nelson surpassed the 200 dig mark at Texas A&M on Friday and the 500 block mark at Texas on Sunday. The 6-4 middle blocker has 201 digs and 504 blocks in her fourth season.
- Sophomore Tionna Williams picked up her 200th career kill at Texas on Sunday.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
Three UW players are closing in on career milestones.
- Senior Lauren Carlini needs just two service aces for 100 in her fourth season. She will also play in her 400th set in four periods. Â
- Senior Haleigh Nelson is just two kills away from 900 career putaways.
- Redshirt senior Romana Krišková needs just five kills for 1,200 in her career.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
#17 Ohio State
The Buckeyes come to Madison with a 10-2 record, wrapping up its non-conference slate last weekend with sweeps of Valparaiso, UNC-Greensboro and Ball State.
    OSU ranks third in the Big Ten in assists, averaging 13.59 per set. Taylor Hughes, a 6-1 sophomore setter, leads the squad with 465 (10.57/set). Hughes also leads the team with 23 service aces, ranking second in the conference.
   Taylor Sandbothe, a 6-2 senior middle blocker, leads the Buckeye offense, recording a .399 hitting percentage (180-45-338). Audra Appold, a 6-1 sophomore outside hitter, follows with 147 kills (3.34/set), while 6-1 junior outside hitter Luisa Schirmer averages 2.64 kills per set and adds 2.77 digs per set. Valeria Leon, 5-6 senior defensive specialist, contributes 3.80 digs per set, ranking 10th in the conference, while adding 12 service aces. Appold averages 2.48 digs/set, while Hughes adds 1.95/set. Sandbothe leads the defense as well, recording 44 blocks (1.00/set), while Hughes and 6-3 junior outside hitter Ashley Wenz add 0.57 and 0.56 blocks/set respectively.
    The matchup is a homecoming of sorts for OSU second-year assistant coach Nikki Klingsporn, who played at Wisconsin from 2006-08 while earning two Academic All-Big Ten honors.
vs. Ohio State
Ohio State leads 38-37
In Madison: tied 18-18
In 2015: The Buckeyes edged the Badgers in Columbus, 3-2, on Sept. 27 while Wisconsin swept Ohio State in Madison on Nov. 22.
Maryland
The Terrapins have collected an 8-4 record to start the season, falling to No. 5 Washington and No. 21 USC last weekend while picking up a 3-1 victory over Oklahoma.
   Maryland outblocks its opponents 128.5 - 96, averaging 3.06 blocks per set as a team. Ashlyn MacGregor, a 6-2 senior middle blocker, leads the Big Ten with 79 blocks (1.88/set), while 6-1 sophomore opposite hitter Angel Gaskin ranks eighth in the conference with 1.29 stuffs per set.
   Kelsey Wicinski, a 5-10 sophomore libero, averages 4.93 digs per set, ranking second in the conference, while adding 43 assists and 15 aces. Gia Milana, a 6-2 freshman outsite hitter, averages 2.26 digs per set and adds 0.40 blocks/set.
   Milana leads the Terps with 166 kills (3.95/set), following only Wisconsin's Molly Haggerty for the most kills among Big Ten rookies. Liz Twilley, a 6-1 sophomore outside hitter, adds 2.55 kills per set while Gaskin chips in 2.10/set.
   Six-foot freshman setter Taylor Smith boasts a Big Ten frosh-leading 266 assists (8.58/set), adding 52 digs, while 6-0 senior setter Whitney Craigo averages 8.44 assists per set and 17 blocks.
vs. Maryland
Wisconsin leads 3-0
In Madison: Wisconsin leads 2-0
In 2015: The Badgers swept the Terrapins in College Park on Oct. 10.
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