The Wisconsin volleyball team started the Big Ten season on the right foot, defeating Northwestern and Illinois this weekend. The No. 23 Badgers (10-3, 2-0) began conference play Friday with a dramatic comeback. Wisconsin dropped the first two games, before storming back to beat the Wildcats 27-30, 27-30, 30-25, 30-15 and 15-12.

UW was haunted by serving errors in the first two games, committing eight in game one and seven more in the second game.

“[In] the first two games, we had 15 service errors. That’s two wins right there. If we only had five service errors, we would have won those two games,” head coach Pete Waite said.

The Badger comeback began in game three. With the score tied at 12, a kill by sophomore Aubrey Meierotto gave the Badgers a lead they would not relinquish. Meierotto recorded six kills in the 30-25 game three victory hitting for a .750 percentage.

“I think [in] the beginning, the serving was what was killing us,” Meierotto said. “When we came back in the third game, it was like we were focusing a lot on serving. Keep the ball in play, and we’re going to play with them.”

UW ran away with game four, charging out to a 10-2 lead and coasting to a 30-15 victory. Meierotto led the way once again with five kills as Wisconsin out hit Northwestern as a team .367 to .000.

The fifth and deciding game was close, with neither team leading by more than three points. After the Wildcats tied the game at 11, two kills and a block by Meierotto set UW up for match point. Senior co-captain Lisa Zukowski, who moved from libero to outside hitter after game two, blocked Northwestern’s Julie Purcell to give Wisconsin the 15-12 win and complete the comeback.

“I came in on that last ball and I could hear them saying ‘nobody, nobody, nobody’ and I was thinking ‘oh no, there is somebody,'” Zukowski said. “It felt really good.”

Meierotto finished the match with career highs in kills (24) and blocks (six). As a team, Wisconsin out blocked Northwestern 13-6.

“For some reason, it wasn’t there in the first two,” Waite said. “I’m proud of the team for hanging in there under tough circumstances.”

Against Illinois Saturday, UW once again found itself in an early hole, losing game one before rallying to win the match in four games 28-30, 30-27, 30-22 and 30-23.

Wisconsin led game one by as many six points and led as late as 23-20, before faltering down the stretch in the two-point loss. 6-foot-5 Illini middle blocker Lisa Argabright controlled game one, hammering nine kills for a .615 percentage to go along with a pair of blocks.

“You cannot see the court when the blocker is that big,” Zukowski said. “Honestly you have to think, cut it really hard line or use the block because you really cannot see the court.”

In the second game, UW rebounded behind junior Jill Odenthal’s five kills and 16 assists from setter Morgan Shields. The game was tied late at 25-25, but the Badgers prevailed 30-27.

Odenthal also carried the offensive load in game three, racking up seven kills, with freshman Amy Bladow pitching in four. Leading by only one at 21-20, UW went on a nine-to-two run to close out the game, winning 30-22.

Wisconsin closed out the match in game four, once again turning a 15-15 tie into an eventual 30-23 win by dominating down the stretch. Odenthal tallied three service aces, and Zukowski nailed seven kills for a .545 percentage.

Junior Marian Weidner dug a career high 11 balls in the match, and senior Jill Maier tied her career best with 19 digs as part of a dominating Badger defensive effort.

“Defensively we out dug them by 24 balls (83 to 59),” Waite said. “We did touch a lot of balls and slow a lot down, and that’s pretty frustrating for hitters. You can see they started making a lot of hitting errors, their hitting percentage stayed really low the last three games.”

Odenthal led the way all match long with 22 kills and a career-high six service aces, an area in which she has struggled at times this season.

“It is just a confidence issue with me,” she said. “I always try to really go after it, but now I’m feeling very comfortable with jump serving and my toss. I felt a lot better tonight than I have in the past.”