Champaign, Ill.–The No. 16-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team recorded 29 unforced hitting errors to lose its first Big Ten match of the year at Illinois. The Illini (7-4, 1-1) downed the Badgers (10-3, 1-1) 24-30, 25-30, 25-30, 24-30.
The loss snapped the Badger Big Ten winning streak at nine matches and this season’s winning streak at six.
“We had a good game plan, rotated our starting lineup and had Erin Byrd on Sue Webber and kept her hitting percentage way down. We also felt that we could attack them on the right side. At times we scored with ease, but at other times we made errors at critical points in the match” Wisconsin head coach Peter Waite said.
Wisconsin hit just .151 percent as a team while Illinois hit .260 percent. The Badgers had only two players in double-figure kills–Lori Rittenhouse with 17 and Erin Byrd with 14. Jill Odenthal came off the bench to lead the team with a .308 hitting percentage.
The Illini had four players in double-figure kills behind Shelly O’Bryan’s 16.
The Badgers played strong defense, recording a season-high 11 blocks, including a career-high six from Lauren Ford. Byrd, Rittenhouse and Amy Hultgren each had three blocks.
“We made far too many hitting errors when we had single blocks. At times we weren’t fighting as hard as we needed to,” Waite said.
Wisconsin also finished with a slight advantage in digs, 52-59. Erin Byrd recorded her second double-double with 19 digs to go along with her 14 kills. Beth Haberli recorded a career high in digs for the second-consecutive match with 16. “Sheila Shaw came off the bench in the fourth game and helped to spark a comeback, but it was too little too late.” Waite said.
Morgan Shields had 54 assists and led all serves with three aces, as Wisconsin out-aced Illinois 6-4.
“We have to be more disciplined in our defense, and we have to find starters who will bring their best game every night,” Waite said.
The Badgers open their Big Ten home season next week. Eighth-ranked Minnesota comes to town Friday at 7 p.m. in the UW Field House.
–Compiled from staff reports
