Behind the play of sophomore setter Katie Lorenzen, the Wisconsin volleyball team defeated Illinois 3-1 Sunday, evening its Big Ten record at 2-2 in the process. Making her first start of the season, Lorenzen recorded 63 assists as the Badgers (8-4) took care of the Illini (10-3, 2-2) 30-28, 25-30, 30-24, 30-22.
"That's the team we've been searching for," UW head coach Pete Waite said. "We've been working all year to try and find consistency and find the right people in the right positions at the right time. A lot of people contributed today to this win."
With a new-look starting lineup that included Lorenzen at setter and sophomore Maria Carlini at left-side hitter, Wisconsin stormed out of the gates in game one, grabbing a 6-0 lead.
After a kill from the Illini's Rachel VanMeter narrowed the gap to 9-7, the Badgers went on a 7-2 run that forced UI to call a timeout, trailing 16-9. UW maintained the seven-point advantage and appeared to be on its way to a comfortable win before VanMeter went on a tear, recording six of Illinois' last eight points. Her last kill drew the Illini within one at 27-26. The Badgers responded with a pair of blocks and freshman middle Taylor Reineke slammed down a kill to put the finishing touches on the game.
The second game was a back-and-forth affair. Illinois jumped out to an early 7-4 lead before Wisconsin rallied and tied the score at 8-8. The two sides continued to trade points, with neither team leading by more than two. A kill from VanMeter tied the game at 25 and the Illini proceeded to reel off a run of five-straight points to take the game. UI's Jessica Belter recorded one of her match-total 19 kills on game point, and Illinois knotted the match at one apiece heading into the locker room.
"They were a really consistent team I felt," Wisconsin's Jill Odenthal said of Illinois. "They took advantage of every point we gave them. Our plan was just to stay on them, be consistent and be aggressive."
Game three had all the makings of a rout early, as the Badgers charged to a 20-6 lead. The Illini did not give up, though, and battled back to cut the UW lead to 23-19 after two consecutive blocks. In the end, Wisconsin was able to hold off the Illinois surge and escape with a 30-24 win.
Carlini hammered four kills in a six-point stretch to help UW open an 18-13 lead in the fourth and final game. Illinois never drew closer than four the rest of the way. Sheila Shaw recorded back-to-back kills to give the Badgers a 28-20 advantage, and Aubrey Meierotto and Taylor Reineke tallied the final two points of the match.
Lorenzen's impressive showing followed up a 37-assist outing at Northwestern Wednesday, when she came off the bench to replace Jackie Simpson.
"We were just looking for consistency out of both setters the first three to four weeks," Waite said. "Katie (Lorenzen) was doing well in practice and we were noticing that she was coming on strong. She's worked very hard over the last couple of years for a moment like this: to get on the court and play some ball. It was exciting for her and all her teammates are happy for her to have a great outing."
As a team, Wisconsin out-hit Illinois .321 to .241 and won the blocking category 16.5 to 8.5. Reineke's eight block assists and one solo block, which gave her a total of five blocks, led the way for UW.
Four Badger hitters finished with double-figure kills, led by Shaw's 19. Odenthal added 14, Carlini notched a new career-high with 13 and Meierotto added 12.
"[Katie] did a very good job of getting the ball high enough and giving me a lot of options," Odenthal said. "She just knows the timing very well. She knows when to set me — I had a significant number of one-on-ones. That's huge; she did a very good job there.
In addition to a fine day at the helm of the Badger offense, Lorenzen also added 10 defensive digs and four block assists.
"It was pretty exhilarating," Lorenzen said of her first start. "I'm still shaking. I think I shook the whole four games. It's been amazing to be in the Field House for as many times as we have. It's so much fun with an awesome team behind me — everyone fighting the whole way. I just had so much fun."
