The No. 23-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team was able to edge Indiana in a five-game match Saturday, picking up a 29-31, 31-29, 30-19, 27-30, 15-12 victory. The win moves Wisconsin (14-5, 6-2) into a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference due to a Penn State loss. The Nittany Lions fell to Minnesota, 3-0, creating a four way between Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois.
“We know that Big Ten play is going be really tough this year and especially tough on the road,” UW head coach Pete Waite said. “Indiana seems to be a team that plays their best ball at home, so to get a win like this in such a great battle of a match is really satisfying. It’s great for the team to take two on the road and come with two wins.”
For the second match in a row, the Badgers hit more than 30 percent as a team. Wisconsin hit 30.7 percent, compared to 27.5 for Indiana. The Badgers also finished with an 82-72 advantage in kills.
Sophomore Aubrey Meierotto led all hitters with a career-high 25 kills, while also hitting 51.2 percent. Senior Lisa Zukowski added 16 kills and sophomore Sheila Shaw tallied 15 kills for the Badgers.
“We’re starting to show that we’ve got some depth coming off the bench,” Coach Waite said. “[Freshman] Maria Carlini came in and did a nice job; at times [junior] Marian Weinder came in and did well. It’s going to take a certain player each night to step up and help us out. Actually on the court, Aubrey Meierotto did an awesome job with 25 kills and a 51.2 hitting percentage, where she had been struggling in recent weeks. It was her night and she really pulled this through.”
Indiana (9-10, 2-6) was led by junior Christina Archibald with 19 kills and senior Melissa Brewer with 18 kills.
The Badgers out-blocked the Hoosiers 9-7, led by five from Shaw and four from Meierotto. Shaw also led Wisconsin with four service aces.
Wisconsin’s defense was led by senior Jill Maier, who recorded her second consecutive 20-plus dig match. The senior had 21 digs after recording a career-high 22 digs last night at Purdue.
Senior Morgan Shields ran the Badger offense, putting up 67 assists.
Despite poor passing in the first game, the Badgers led by as many as five points (23-18). Wisconsin had several unforced errors to allow Indiana to pull within one point several times, including at 28-27. The Badgers served for game point at 29-27 and again at 29-28, but kills from Brewer and Archibald tied the scored at 29. Two kills from senior Monique Pritz gave the Hoosiers the game.
Game 2 ended the opposite of Game 1, with Wisconsin holding off an Indiana game point. The Hoosiers served with the chance to go up two games to none at 29-28, but a kill from Meierotto tied the score at 29. Following a long volley, a block solo from Maria Carlini put the Badgers up 30-29. A kill from Zukowski at the end of another long rally tied the match at one game apiece.
The Badgers dominated Game 3 with their improved defense jumping out to an 11-3 lead off the serve of Carlini. Wisconsin upped its lead to as much as 13 (28-15) as Indiana never threatened.
Wisconsin led 15-13 in Game 4, but Indiana scored six unanswered points to take a 19-15 lead. The Badgers could get no closer than one point several times including at 28-27, but two consecutive kills from junior Katie Pollom sent the match into a deciding fifth game.
The Badgers took an 8-4 lead in Game 5 behind a service ace from Shaw as well as a block from Meierotto and freshman Amy Bladow. The Hoosiers cut the lead to one (11-10) off a kills from Brewer, but a kill by junior Jill Odenthal and a block solo from Shaw put the Badgers up 13-10. Wisconsin served for match point at 14-11, but another Brewer kill only delayed the inevitable, and Meierotto hammered down a kill for the win.
Wisconsin returns home next weekend and faces the No. 13 Penn State Nittany Lions Friday. Penn State is also 5-1 in conference play and is tied with the Badgers for first place. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
The Badgers play Ohio State Saturday, and the game will be aired on FoxSports Network. Both games will be at 7 p.m. at the UW Field House.
“There are so many tough teams in the conference this year; anybody has a shot at it,” Coach Waite said of the Big Ten Title race. “I’m thrilled that we’re there with a home match coming up against Penn State and a chance to play some great ball and possibly take the lead. We want it for ourselves, [and we] have a chance at the title and get our chance to prove it. ”
–compiled from staff reports
