The sixth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team kept its seven-match winning streak alive with a 31-29, 30-15, 30-21 win over Northwestern. The Badgers (13-2, 7-0) also extended their game-winning streak to 16.
“I’m happy to go on a road trip and come out of it with a three-game win,” Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said. “I was a little disappointed we let up in the first game. We were up 25-15 and just let them back in that game, but [the Badgers] refocused and came back with two big point spreads [in the last two games]. So I was happy.”
Wisconsin used a strong offensive output to down Northwestern (6-7, 3-4) as the Badgers hit .359 percent, led by Sherisa Livingston, hitting a phenomenal .750 percent. The middle blocker had a match-high 20 kills in 24 attempts with only two errors. Lisa Zukowski also had an impressive night offensively, putting down 16 kills and hitting .571 percent. The Badgers totaled 52 kills, compared to only 35 for the Wildcats.
Wisconsin didn’t dominate defensively like the last few matches, getting outblocked 5-3 by Northwestern. The Badgers also had only a 31-30 advantage in digs, led by a match-high 10 from Erin Byrd.
“Northwestern is a tough team to set up on,” Waite said. “They don’t have enough tendencies that you can get used to, so it makes them a very difficult team to play.”
UW had another strong serving performance with 10 aces, including three from Zukowski.
The Badgers came back from a 2-5 deficit in Game 1 to tie the game at eight. Livingston slammed back two overpasses to put UW up 11-8. Wisconsin slowly increased its lead to 11 at 25-14 and looked to be in control. But the Wildcats used their block and serving to tie the game at 29. Northwestern had three blocks and five service aces in the game, including three to key its rally. Kills by Livingston and Zukowski put UW up 1-0.
Behind Erin Byrd’s serve, the Badgers jumped out to a 9-2 lead in Game 2. Zukowski’s game-high seven kills put UW up 23-8, while a Livingston kill gave UW Game 2.
Game 3 was all Wisconsin, as the Badgers took a 5-1 lead and never looked back. Livingston had seven kills in the last game, while Zukowski and Sara Urbanek both had a pair of service aces.
