MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 2 Wisconsin volleyball team claimed its second tournament win of the 2016 season, overpowering Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 25-15, 25-10, 25-13 to sweep the final match of the HotelRED Invitational on Sunday afternoon.
 
Sophomore Lauryn Gillis led the Badger offense, recording 10 kills for her fifth-straight game with double-digit kills. Senior Lauren Carlini registered 36 assists for her squad, adding 11 digs for her third double-double of the season. UW hit a season-high .456 (46 kills – 5 errors – 90 attempts) in the match, as the Islanders (2-3) failed to record a block.
 
As a team, Wisconsin (5-0) out dug the Islanders 42-33, with freshman Molly Haggerty and senior Kelli Bates recording nine digs each.
 
"One of the things that we thought going into this match is that (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) really did some things that can make you really uncomfortable," UW head coach Kelly Sheffield explained.
 
"First of all, their setter does a lot of attacking – she can really stretch you out. Defensively, you can potentially be really strained if you're in their system. I think we did a pretty good job serving and keeping them out of their system. Our blockers were quick with their hands over the net. I think we did a good job pressing and getting it over."
 
Wisconsin out-blocked the Islanders 12-0, holding the visitors to a .048 hitting percentage (28 - 23 – 104). Senior Haleigh Nelson and sophomore Tionna Williams shared the lead in blocks, recording five apiece. Carlini added four of her own while Gillis added three and redshirt senior Romana Kriskova added two blocks.
 
"I think probably the focus, at least for me, on blocking was that both the teams that we played this weekend ran pretty quick offenses," Nelson said, "so pretty much all I focused on was getting my hands over and quick, not so much high or anything like that."
 
Carlini and Gillis were each named to the HotelRED All-Tournament team, while Nelson received MVP honors. San Diego's Hunter Jennings and Lauren Schad were named to the all-tournament team, as well as Brittney Giplin and Kate Klepetka for the Islanders.
 
The Islanders (2-3) came out swinging in the first set, always staying one point up on the Badgers until a block from Carlini gave Wisconsin the 4-3 lead it wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the afternoon. An ace from sophomore Amber MacDonald put UW up 17-8, but a 4-0 run for the Islanders forced Wisconsin to take a timeout, leading 19-14. The regroup proved fruitful, as the Badgers finished out the set with a 6-1 run to claim a 1-0 set lead.
 
The Badgers jumped to a 9-1 lead to start the second set, and while several Wisconsin attack errors allowed TAMCC a chance to close the gap, the deficit was too much for the Islanders to overcome. Freshman Mallory Dixon's first career ace gave the Badgers a 22-9 lead and a 3-1 run, ending in an ace from Nelson, clinched the second set, 25-10, for Wisconsin.
 
Wisconsin shut down the Blue and Green hitters, holding the team to a negative .081 (6-9-37) hitting percentage in the second set.
 
One key was that the deep Wisconsin bench kept the Islanders guessing.
 
"We were able to bring some other people into the match today and they were tuned in," Sheffield said. "They played Wisconsin volleyball. Tori (Blake) is up here and I thought she was very, very active and making herself available. They taught her to come right out of the gate when she comes in with a short serve and she nailed that and then terminating a transition kill. She did a lot of positive things.
 
"Mallory (Dixon) got her first action and she came in and got an ace. I like the fact that Mallory came in after struggling for the first week-and-a-half of practice and put some good ones in there today."
 
Kriskova posted a game-high six kills in the final set, helping the Badgers retain a 7-5 lead to start the set. A kick save made in the Wisconsin front line was challenge by the Islanders bench, but the call was upheld and UW kept its 10-5 lead. Sophomore Julia Saunders recorded her first kill of the season to send the game to match point before a powerful kill from Gillis finished off the sweep, 25-13.
 
"Good match against a good team," Sheffield said. "That's a good team that's going to win a lot of matches. 
 
"We have the first week of school coming up here and I'm sure the girls are excited about that; then we head to North Carolina."
 
The Badgers hit the road next, traveling to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Wisconsin faces host No. 12 North Carolina on Friday at 5:30 p.m. CT before taking on Louisville on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT.