Madison, WI – The No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team (12-4 overall, 8-0 Big Ten) kept its perfect record in Big Ten play intact with a sweep of Northwestern on Saturday night. The Badgers swept the Wildcats 25-22, 25-21, 25-17, their fourth sweep in the last five matches and their second win over Northwestern in 10 days.
Grace Loberg was the lone Badger who finished with double-digit kills, finishing with a match-high 14 kills while hitting .312 (14 kills – 4 errors – 32 attempts). As a team, Wisconsin hit .255 (39–12–106) to the Wildcats' .178 (36–17–107).
The Badgers' front line was able to limit Northwestern freshman and Big Ten kill leader Temi Thomas-Ailara to 12 kills and a .043 (12-10-47) hitting percentage.
Danielle Hart and
Nicole Shanahan shared match-high honors with four blocks apiece. Both teams recorded 44 digs with senior libero
Tiffany Clark recording a match-high 14 digs.
To go along with her match-high blocks, Shanahan came through with a career-high five kills, her first career assist, her first career service ace, and a career-high 8.5 points. The junior middle blocker received the start in place of All-American
Dana Rettke, who missed her first match at Wisconsin with a foot injury.
Freshman
Izzy Ashburn led all players with three service aces as the Badgers served eight aces while not giving up an ace.
Straight from the Court
"That was fun. It took us a few points to get the cobwebs out, which is probably expected after last night and the toll that that takes emotionally and physically and how late that was. I liked how our team battled. We got better as the match went on, we closed out the first two sets really well... we were down on both of them, but we battled and fought and closed each of those well. We turned it up a little in the third, and I thought this kid (
Nicole Shanahan) came in and gave us some positive contributions which is what we expect. Good team win.
"They lean on (Temi Thomas-Ailara) an awful lot, I think she had 21 attempts in the first set, that is just ridiculous. That serve has more pace than anyone else's serve we see all year. Our passers continue to get better, another match where we didn't get aced at all tonight. I think we're getting better at that... not too many times where we're giving up clean aces. Huge credit to our back court." – Head Coach
Kelly Sheffield
"I've been in this position before earlier this season. I had a feeling because I knew Dana (Rettke) wasn't feeling too great after the game yesterday. To be completely honest, I was really calm going into the game because I've been in this position before and I know my team has faith in me, I know Kelly (Sheffield) has faith in me and all of the coaching staff has faith in me. I just needed to execute and play how I play, how the Badgers play. I was just really confident." –
Nicole Shanahan
Notes to Know
- The Badgers open the Big Ten season 8-0, their best conference opening since a 9-0 start in 2007.
- Junior Dana Rettke missed her first collegiate match with a foot injury. The 6-foot-8 middle blocker had played in 79 straight matches and 283 straight sets.
- Junior Nicole Shanahan earned the start at middle blocker in place of Rettke. Shanahan served for the first time in her collegiate career, recording her first career service ace. The 6-foot-3 middle blocker also recorded a career-high five kills on 13 attempts.
- Wisconsin held its fourth opponent of the season to zero service aces. The Badgers give up only 0.89 service aces per set.
Up Next
The Badgers take to the Big Ten road next weekend, traveling to the state of Michigan for two matches. Wisconsin faces Michigan State on Friday at 6 p.m. CT from Jenison Fieldhouse in East Lansing, Michigan. The match will be streamed live on BTN+. Â The road weekend continues on Sunday as UW takes on Michigan at 12 p.m. CT from Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
