On a weekend honoring seniors, the Wisconsin women’s volleyball team capped it off the best way they know how — by winning at least a share of the Big Ten title.

With Ohio State’s 3-1 Friday loss to Michigan State, along with the Badgers’ 3-0 victory over Iowa, UW was guaranteed a share of the conference crown if they defeated any one of their next three opponents.

It did not take the Badgers long to claim what they believed was rightfully theirs.
UW downed Minnesota 3-0 Sunday in one of the toughest three-game sets the Badgers have played all season. It was that win that assured the Badgers a title, and left them only one win shy of having the conference title outright.

Despite knowing that they had won their second straight Big Ten championship, there was no celebration, no mention of it and no feeling of satisfaction following the game.

“The exciting thing is we just won a Big Ten title,” said head coach Pete Waite. “We didn’t celebrate yet because this team wants sole possession of a Big Ten championship.”

Minnesota (18-10, 10-8 Big Ten) pushed sixth-ranked UW to the limit Sunday. Both the first and second games went down to the wire and could have gone either way.

Wisconsin (23-3, 17-1 Big Ten) ended Minnesota’s five-match winning streak with a 30-28, 30-27, 30-18 victory. The Badgers jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the first game, and never looked back. The Gophers closed the gap 22-23 late into the game, but seniors Sherisa Livingston and Lizzy Fitzgerald took command.

In the final 13 points played, Livingston had three kills and Fitzgerald recorded seven assists.

The second game seemed to be Minnesota’s to win, but Wisconsin bounced back from an early deficit to pull ahead.

UW was not able to take the lead until late in the game when they went up 20-19. Even though Minnesota tied the match four more times, UW never was at a deficit again.
The third game was all Wisconsin as the Badgers jumped out to a 10-3 advantage. The senior duo closed out the match with a kill by Livingston assisted by Fitzgerald.

“I thought it was very fitting that it ended with [Fitzgerald] going to [Livingston],” said Waite. “It just finished perfectly for the day.”

UW hit .326 in the third game and held the Gophers to a .050 hitting attack. For the match UW hit .243 and out-killed Minnesota 63-37.

Livingston led all players with 24 kills, while freshman Jill Odenthal added 13 kills. Fitzgerald had 51 assists and seven digs. Junior Erin Byrd recorded her 1,000th career dig in the match. Byrd and Korie Gardner led the team with eight digs apiece.

The road to the title began Friday night against Iowa. The Badgers swept the Hawkeyes (6-21, 3-15 Big Ten) 30-9, 30-14, 30-20. UW hit a season-high .462 while holding Iowa to an amazing .000 hitting percentage.

Livingston led the Badger attack. She led all players with 18 kills and seven blocks while hitting .773.

Contributing to the Badger victory was fellow senior Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald assisted in 37 of Wisconsin’s attacks and added six kills, seven digs and a career-high four service aces.

The other two seniors on the squad were Marie Meyer, who recorded four kills in place of Amy Hultgren, and Sara Urbanek, who tallied three digs.

While the night belonged to the seniors, Odenthal reminded everyone that the freshmen can play too.

Odenthal was the only other UW hitter in double figures for kills with 12. She also tallied six digs and hit .385.

Wisconsin held off the attack of Iowa senior Sara Meyerman, who is considered the top player on the Hawkeye roster. Meyerman ended the night with seven kills on 31 attempts, and hit a negative .065.
Sophomore Renee Hill also had seven kills and fared better hitting-wise with her .105 percentage.

After hearing of the Ohio State loss, the players and coaches briefly reflected on the notion of being one win away from a title before heading into the match against Minnesota.

“I think the end of the road is coming up, and I think we are playing great,” said Fitzgerald. “It is really exciting. We are really excited about things going on in the Big Ten, but we have to do what we have to do because when it comes down to it, we want to be playing our best ball going into the tournament.”