The 15th-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team clinched a share of second place in the Big Ten conference with a 30-24, 30-19, 30-27 win over Michigan State Saturday night. The Badgers (23-8 overall, 14-6 Big Ten) share the runner-up position with Penn State. The Spartans (19-11, 11-9) finished the season in fifth place.
“Coming into this weekend, I didn’t know how it’d go, so I’m thrilled we won both [matches],” Badger coach Pete Waite said. “We hadn’t done that on the road all season — win back-to-back games in Big Ten play — so I think that just shows the growth of this team and the depth that we have.”
The Spartans hit a negative .047 percent for game one as the Badgers had five blocks, including two early blocks to key a 17-9 lead. Wisconsin hit just .085 in the first game as State rallied to tie the score at 19. Three more blocks aided the Badgers to a 27-21 lead. The Spartans would cut it to four (28-24), but a kill from Amy Hultgren, followed by a State hitting error, gave UW the win.
“We were blocking solid,” Waite said. “We’ve just become much more disciplined at the net with our block.”
Wisconsin led all of game two as the team upped its hitting to .366 percent for the period. The Badgers broke a 13-all tie behind kills from Sheila Shaw and Erin Byrd to go up 15-13. Byrd had six kills, and Jill Odenthal had five kills to key the stretch run.
“I think we were fine; the kids handled it well; they were really pretty relaxed through the whole match,” Waite said about the various adjustments the Badgers made. “It was Michigan State in the third game that had to really change their lineup around to try to find something that would work for them against us.”
Game three was a tight battle featuring 12 ties, including a late tie at 24-24. Byrd and Hultgren broke the knotted score with kills to put UW up 26-24. MSU pulled to within one (28-27), but two more Hultgren kills put the match away.
Wisconsin held MSU to a .081 hitting percentage, out-blocking the Spartans nine to seven. Shaw led all blockers with five stuffs, including three solos. Hultgren added four block assists.
The Badgers didn’t fare much better in hitting percentage, connecting on just .221 percent of their attacks. Byrd led all hitters with 16 kills, while Hultgren and Odenthal added 11 apiece. Kim Schram was the only Spartan in double-figure kills with 13. Setter Morgan Shields had four kills and led the team with a .667 hitting percentage as she put up 41 assists.
Wisconsin finished with a slight 47-45 edge in digs, led by Lisa Zukowski with 14. Byrd recorded a double-double, adding 10 digs to her 16 kills.
In Big Ten action Friday night, the Badgers beat a tough Michigan team 30-26, 24-30, 30-27, 35-33 to keep themselves in contention for second place in the conference. The Badgers handed the Wolverines (15-14, 9-10) only their second loss at home this season.
Wisconsin had five players in double-figure kills, led by Jill Odenthal with a match-high 17 kills to tie her career high. Senior Erin Byrd added 16, while Amy Hultgren and Sheila Shaw put down 12 apiece. Aubrey Meierotto came off the bench to record 10 kills in three games. Carrie Ritchie led the Wolverines with 16 kills as Michigan totaled four players in double figures.
“I thought we were real balanced,” Waite said. “I think [Hultgren] stepped it up, especially in the fourth game. She had a couple of turnaround blocks on overpasses that were really important and critical at the time.”
Lisa Zukowski had 18 digs to aid the Badger defense to a 59-56 advantage in digs. Shields and Jill Maier added 11 digs apiece. Shields added 59 assists and two service aces. Both teams had seven aces, with Gardner leading Wisconsin with three. The Badgers edged the Wolverines in blocks, 8-7, led by four apiece for Hultgren and Shaw.
–compiled from staff reports
