MADISON, Wis. –  Finding a way to finish off sets has been an issue for the sixth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team this season. But that wasn't the case as the Badgers opened the Big Ten Conference season with a 25-18, 25-19, 25-22 win over Northwestern on Friday night in the UW Field House.
 
The Badgers (7-2, 1-0 B1G) rallied late in sets two and three, outscoring Northwestern (11-2, 0-1) 7-1 over the final points of set two and 4-1 over the closing stages of set three to complete the sweep.

UW broke open the first set with a 3-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. That momentum continued to the end of the set as Wisconsin led the rest of the period.

The second set was much closer as the two teams battled through nine ties and four lead changes. The last tie of the set was at 18-all before the Badgers outscored the Wildcats 7-1 in the final stretch. Wisconsin scored the final three points of the set with two tallies coming from Danielle Hart, who had a kill and a block assist, giving UW a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Northwestern, which is the fourth team in the receiving votes category of the national coaches' poll, took an early lead in a must-win third set but the Badgers would again rally late. Wisconsin led 21-18 before the Wildcats came back to knot the score at 21. This time it was a 4-1 run by UW that completed the sweep.

Wisconsin hit .281 (41 kills - 14 errors - 96 attempts) while holding Northwestern, which entered the match hitting .300 on the season, to just .178 (35-19-90). Julia Orzol put away a match-high 12 kills while hitting .500 (12-1-22). Devyn Robinson added 10 kills.

MJ Hammill earned a career-high five aces as UW finished with a 9-3 advantage from the service line. Hammill also led the Badgers in assists, putting up 17 helpers. Izzy Ashburn closely followed with 16 assists to support the offense.

UW blocked Northwestern, 9-8, as junior Caroline Crawford and Hart both stopped four shots.

The Wildcats finished with a 37-33 advantage in digs but freshman Gulce Guctekin led all players with 13 saves.

Straight from the court 

Coach Kelly Sheffield 
 
"Everybody in this league does something that can really cause stress and one of the things that Northwestern does very well, that makes it very challenging, is the tempo sets that they're running out to their left sides. It's really fast and is something we've been working on throughout the week, holding their left sides to zero. That was a big challenge for us going in and I thought we answered that challenge… I like the things we worked on throughout the week and that it showed up in the match, and is certainly a good start to the Big Ten season."
 
MJ Hammill
"You build confidence with every game and build confidence by mindful training in practice, not taking reps for granted or realizing that it's a low-pressure situation in practice. I've served in practice the same way I would serve in games."
 
Julia Orzol
" I feel like this week was cool, the amount of work we put in and the attitude everybody came with every day in the gym. I really liked the thing that Jade [Demps] put on the whiteboard in our locker room. She asked us a question, 'How great can we be?' And I feel like everybody shows up and tries to explore this question, and I feel that is the greatest thing. We have a whole lot of season in front of us and this work is the most satisfying thing."

Notes to know 

• Junior MJ Hammill recorded a career-high five service aces, including two apiece in the first and second sets.
• Sophomore Julia Orzol tied her career high with a .500 hitting percentage. The 6-foot outside hitter had 12 kills on 22 swings with only one error.
• Freshman Gulce Guctekin led all players with 13 digs, her seventh-straight match with 10-or-more saves.
• For the second straight match and the third time in the last four matches, graduate student Danielle Hart hit better than .500, putting away seven kills on 11 attempts with one error for a .545 hitting percentage against NU. On the season, the middle blocker leads the Badgers with a .411 hitting percentage.
• Wisconsin kicked off the Big Ten season with a win, improving to 25-16 all-time in conference openers.
• The Badgers continue to dominate from the service line, outscoring Northwestern 9-3 in service aces. UW averaged 3.0 aces per set in the match. On the season, Wisconsin averages 2.0 service aces per set.
• UW held Northwestern to a .178 hitting percentage. The Wildcats entered the match hitting .300 on the season, which ranked second in the Big Ten and eighth nationally.  

Up next

The Badgers head to Minneapolis for a Border Battle against No. 8 Minnesota on Sunday. First serve is at 7 p.m. from Maturi Pavilion. The match airs live on the Big Ten Network.