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The Wisconsin volleyball team improved its record this weekend and will start the second half of Big Ten play at the top of the conference. The Badgers (16-5, 8-2) knocked off the Penn State Nittany Lions (18-4, 7-3) Friday night in five well-fought games and then defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes (8-10, 2-8) in four games Saturday. The Badgers remain in a three-way tie for first place in the conference with Minnesota and Illinois.

On paper, the Nittany Lions looked statistically better than the Badgers, but Friday night, in front of a crowd of 4660, the Badgers proved that all it takes to knock off a great team is support and determination. The first two games went to the Badgers, and the next two went to the Nittany Lions. The final game was a roller coaster, but the Badgers pulled off the victory 30-26, 30-28, 24-30, 20-30, 16-14.

In the first two games Lisa Zukowski led the team with 12 kills and eight digs. The Nittany Lions’ junior hitter Ashley Pederson led the team with 13 kills and two digs. It was not until the second game that Penn State took their first lead of the night with a score of 27-28, but they failed to hold onto that lead going into the second-game break.

Coming out of the break, the Badgers began to look tired as lack of communication and poor passing plagued Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions frustrated the Badgers’ hitters by out-blocking them in game three, three to two. Penn State also started to throw the Badgers off by serving high at the shoulders, which made them tired from passing deep in the court and then running up to hit.

In game four, Ashley Pederson of Penn State continued to dominate, leading the team with six kills and two service aces.

“Pederson took fire, I think she only got stronger as the match went on. We were trying to slow her down early and digging her but she got going in games three and four,” Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said.

In the fifth game the Badgers presented a new look that would give them the energy they needed. Lisa Zukowski took on the libero position after being worn down at outside hitter. Jill Odenthal and Aubrey Meierotto sparked the team in game five. Odenthal had five kills and Meierotto added three. Marian Weidner helped out defensively with five digs, totaling a career high of 17 for the match.

“It was a great start, getting up 2-0, but in the third game we were fading a little bit and getting tired. It was an intense emotional match. They (Penn State) started touching more of our hits, digging a lot of our balls, and we could just sense that we needed a change out there,” Waite said. “I am proud of the team for the way they battled back from being so far down.”

“I think that was a message to Penn State that we [were] not giving up even though they had the lead throughout most of the game,” Zukowski said.

Saturday night was less intense for the Badgers, as they defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in four games, 30-15, 26-30, 30-20, 30-22.

Overall the Badgers recorded 68 kills and held the Buckeyes to 47 kills. Morgan Shields controlled the Badger offense with 56 setting assists. Odenthal had 19 kills, and Zukowski added 15.

“I am really happy with the way, in the last three to four weeks, people are stepping in and helping out,” Waite said.

In the second game Buckeye hitter Stacy Gordon recorded nine kills and five digs, totaling 19 kills and 12 digs for the match. She would continue to be the only spark for the Buckeyes, but it was not enough.

“She is a great player, probably the best in the conference, so we definitely key on her. I think we did a good job of holding her down,” Odenthal said.

The Badgers also concentrated on their serving and recorded double-digit service aces with 13. Wisconsin also had a hitting percentage of .331, which is the fifth highest four-game match percentage in UW history.

“I’m rather pleased with this win, after such an emotional match last night,” Waite said. “It would be very easy to let up, and I think in the second game we did go very flat. So we really challenged the kids at the second-game break to really come out and dig down and play at a higher level.”