MADISON, WIS. – The Wisconsin volleyball team defeated Marquette 25-13, 25-19, 25-21 at the UW Field House on Wednesday night in its third spring match this season.
Oregon transfer
Mimi Colyer led the Badgers with 14 kills, with freshman
Madison Quest not far behind, registering 12. As a team, UW hit .337 (45 kills - 14 errors - 92 attempts). Marquette was led by middle blocker Hattie Bray with eight kills, as the Golden Eagles hit .048 (21 - 17 - 84) on the night.
The Badgers got out to a quick start, fueled by a 4-0 serving run from
Una Vajagic to push UW ahead 5-1. Marquette inched their way back in to bring it within two (11-9). Quest's third kill as a Badger, followed by a block with
Charlie Fuerbringer and
Carter Booth gave the Badgers a 13-9 lead. From there, Fuerbringer went on an 8-0 serving run to secure the first set win, 25-13, as
Mimi Colyer registered seven kills in her first set with Wisconsin.
Picking up right she left off, Fuerbringer went on a 5-0 serving run to start set two, recording her second ace of the match. Marquette picked up three points before
Maile Chan went on a 5-0 serving run of her own, as UW took an 11-3 lead. The Golden Eagles started to gain some momentum with two aces and a Wisconsin service error, to bring it back within four (12-8). The game of runs continued, as Wisconsin responded with a kill from Booth and Vajagic. Marquette's Natalie Ring rattled off three kills in a row to start an 8-2 run for the Golden Eagles, as they trailed by just one, 19-18. The Badgers scored six of the last seven points to win it 25-19.
The third set was much more even, as Marquette led 4-3 early, but Fuerbringer found a run behind the service line once again, as she ran six straight to give UW a 9-4 lead. Marquette slowly chipped away, trailing just 12-11. Wisconsin pulled back ahead with Colyer's 13th kill of the night, giving UW a 16-12 lead. The Badgers maintained a two-point lead minimum for the remainder of the set, as Wisconsin took the set and match, 25-21.
Fuerbringer put up 35 assists, paired with nine digs. Chan got the nod for starting libero this evening, and led the team with 10 digs. The Badgers just edged out Marquette with nine blocks compared to their eight, as Booth led the team with five.
Straight from the court
Head coach Kelly Sheffield
On tonight's crowd: "I thought we had a great crowd tonight. My first year here, there would be some matches where there would be half as many people there as there were tonight for a scrimmage. That's what we're hoping to do, where our spring matches are filling the entire building."
On newcomer Mimi Colyer: "She's one of the more talented, competitive players in the country. She approaches the game in a way that others want to be around her, they want to play with her, they want to compete with her. You see her getting more and more comfortable each week that we have gone."
Up next
The Badgers will finish up the spring season next week, hosting Green Bay at the UW Field House on Tuesday, April 22 at 6 p.m. The match will be streamed on BIG+.
