The Badger volleyball team defeated an opportunistic Northwestern team (28-30, 25-30, 30-27, 20-25, 15-10) Wednesday night in a five-game thriller that exemplified every aspect of women’s volleyball.
The Wildcats (16-13, 9-8) dominated the UW volleyball team (21-7, 12-5) throughout the first five games the teams played this season. Poor passing and sloppy serving saw the Badger women lose in three games to the Wildcats Oct. 23 and saw them down two games to none in the best of five Wednesday night.
“I don’t know why against Northwestern this year we came out tight,” Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said.
It wasn’t until a huge kill by senior Erin Byrd put the Badgers up 21-20 in the third game that the Badgers managed to swing momentum in there favor. With the crowd alive and the seats below press row shaking, Byrd converted two more spectacular kills to put the Badgers up for good in game three.
“She was about the only one putting balls away,” coach Waite said. “You’ve got to have somebody still swinging, somebody still going after things, and she was. And that gives the others hope that they can get it going.”
Byrd finished the contest with a match-high 29 kills and added 18 digs to the Badger defensive effort. Byrd’s senior leadership and a few lineup changes led the team out of the halftime locker. The team appeared rejuvenated as the Badgers started to play with the energy and ability that has them sitting in second place in the Big Ten.
“For some reason the group we had out there was just having trouble scoring, and our passing was struggling early,” Waite said. “Once we started passing better and got some more people in there they started breaking things up and opening up holes in the back, and Aubrey [Meierotto] came in and did an awesome job.”
In game three, Byrd’s eight kills along with the inspired play of outside hitter Meierotto lifted the Badgers to a 30-27 victory. The win began to truly shift the outlook of the match, getting the Fieldhouse crowd to its feet for the night’s first Badger game point. Meierotto would end the match with 14 kills, but it was her play down the stretch of game three that made the biggest impact.
“She’s the terminator in the front row, and that’s what we expect out of her,” Waite said of Meierotto. “She’s experienced at it, and we have a lot of confidence she’ll come in and do well.”
In game four the Badgers jumped on top early with an overpowering attack that was both balanced and well executed. Middle blocker Amy Hultgren put the Badgers on top with a strategic tap early in the match, while outside hitter Jill Odenthal’s kills kept the team going when the Wildcats made a mid-game run. Middle blocker Sheila Shaw and Meierotto also contributed with four and six kills respectively.
“Late in the match, we had some young players out there,” Waite said. “They came in and they were solid for us.”
The Badgers went into game five looking to complete their incredible comeback bid. Shaw and Byrd got the team started off on the right foot with two huge kills, and the Badgers changed sides with the Wildcats up 8-4. Jill Odenthal came up with some overpowering kills late in the game, and the Badger faithful exploded as she ended the match with a 15-10 Badger victory.
In the win the Badgers were led on defense by the play of libero Lisa Zukowski, who led the team with 21 digs, Morgan Shields with 11 digs, and Byrd with 18 kills.
The Badger women hope to carry the momentum from this victory into their matchup with 15th-ranked Penn State this Friday in what may be the seniors’ last home game.
“[Penn State] just took a loss to Ohio State last weekend, and I am sure they are not very happy about it,” Waite said. “We are going to get a very fired-up Penn State team.”
