MADISON, Wis. – It would be really easy for a team to fold after dropping the first two sets of a match on its home court, but that was not an option for the eighth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team Friday Night. The Badgers never doubted their ability to defeat No. 12 Purdue, and they did just that in five sets (16-25, 22-25, 25-23, 25-14, 15-10).
Wisconsin (17-6 overall, 10-5 B1G) faced offensive struggles early in the match, but halfway through the third set, it was evident that the Badgers had more to give. Down 2-0 in the match and 9-3 in the third set, UW started chipping away at Purdue's lead and closed the gap to 14-11. With captain
Sydney Hilley behind the service line, an 8-0 scoring run gave the Badgers a lead that they would never relinquish.
UW hit .235 (64 kills – 24 errors – 170 attempts) while holding Purdue to a .209 (63-29-163) hitting percentage. Sophomore
Dana Rettke led the charge with 16 kills while
Tionna Williams,
Molly Haggerty and
Grace Loberg added another 12 kills apiece.
Sophomore setter
Sydney Hilley notched a double-double after recording a career-high 59 assists and 10 digs. Haggerty also earned a double-double with 11 digs to go with her 12 kills.
In the backcourt, libero
Tiffany Clark led all players with 25 digs as the Boilermakers earned a 68-64 dig advantage.
Purdue also prevailed at the net, out blocking UW 15-10. Williams paced the Badgers with six stuffs while
Danielle Hart and Hilley each tallied four blocks.
Notes to know
- The last time the Badgers rallied from a 0-2 deficit in a match was at No. 2 Texas on Sept. 18, 2016.
- Wisconsin improves to 3-1 in five-set matches this season.
- Sophomore Molly Haggerty recorded her fifth double-double of the season and the 14th of her career with 12 kills and 11 digs.
- Sophomore Dana Rettke led Wisconsin with 16 kills, her 13th-straight match in double-digit kills.
- Junior Tiffany Clark led all players with 25 digs, her 11th straight match with 10-or-more saves. The 5-foot-11 libero is only 20 digs away from 1,000 saves for her career.
- Sophomore Sydney Hilley also had a double-double with a career-high 59 assists while adding 10 digs.
Straight from the court
"You see a lot of joy from these guys. When you have to dig deep and when your back is against the wall, those are the matches that feel so much better than when you're just coming out and everything is just going your way. Everybody has had those matches where everything is going right and you're cranking on all cylinders. A win like this when you really get to go deep and claw your way out of it, that is some really good stuff."
-Head coach Kelly Sheffield
"This is one of the best wins I've been a part of. Coming back down 0-2 against a really great Purdue team who is having a great season. It just shows our mental toughness and the grit and fight this team has and we are going to keep building off of that for the rest of the season."
-Middle blocker Tionna Williams
Up next
Wisconsin closes out its home season Saturday evening with a match against Indiana at 7 p.m. The Badgers will honor senior player
Tionna Williams and senior manager
Amber MacDonald after the match.
