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Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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UW volleyball sweeps Gophers for second time in four days

UW+volleyball+sweeps+Gophers+for+second+time+in+four+days
Jason Chan

For the second time in four days, the Wisconsin volleyball team defeated Minnesota in straight sets, this time a three-set sweep in front of a sellout crowd at the UW Field House Saturday night.

Wisconsin (16-2, 7-1 Big Ten) won its seventh straight conference matchup, its longest Big Ten winning streak since 2007 when the team won nine in a row.

At times, the Badgers came out slow, particularly in the beginning of the first and third set.

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UW and Minnesota (13-5, 3-5) fought back and forth in the first, with Minnesota taking a 12-10 lead. Sophomore middle-blocker Haleigh Nelson had three kills for the Badgers in that stretch, keeping the Gopher lead within reach.

“They got a lead early on, but I thought we were dialed in, ready to go,” head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “That was a big concern, as a coach, the fact that you get comfortable you beat someone just a few days earlier. I didn’t see that at all.”

Following an attack error by senior right-side hitter Courtney Thomas that put Minnesota up 18-15, Sheffield called his second timeout of the set to talk things over with his team.

The Badgers went on a 10-1 run to close out the set, taking it 25-19. Paving the way was senior outside hitter Ellen Chapman who had four of her 10 kills throughout the run. At the end of the first set, Chapman and Nelson had six kills apiece, accounting for UW’s 12 of 14 kills in the frame.

Minnesota had four attack errors in that 10-1 stretch. Errors plagued the Gophers the entirety of the match. They finished with 26 attacking errors, compared to Wisconsin’s 12.

“I thought both teams made quite a few errors,” Sheffield said. “I think their errors showed up in the attack column, I thought our errors showed up with some of the serving and missed assignments.”

The second set was lopsided in favor of the Badgers. After Minnesota tied it up 7-7, Wisconsin began a 10-2 run, with two kills from freshman outside hitter Kelli Bates and a kill apiece from Thomas and Thompson.

Sophomore setter Lauren Carlini, who had 28 assists, added a kill of her own and the Gophers committed three attack errors in the stretch. Junior libero Taylor Morey had a service ace to force a timeout and put the Badgers up 16-9. Thompson emphatically closed out the set with a kill, as the Badgers won the second set handily 25-15.

Thompson, a native Minnesota native, said this sweep means a lot because she gets to bring her bragging rights to the other side of the border.
“After winning at Minnesota it was a great feeling,” Thompson said. “Being able to come here and take care of business and sweep them again, it’s a great feeling. It makes me really glad I’m at Wisconsin.”

Wisconsin’s blocking forced Minnesota to hit an anemic -.105 hitting percentage in the second set. The Gophers only hit .017 on the match, while the Badgers hit .224. Minnesota came into their matchups with Wisconsin, but UW out-blocked the Gophers both nights, blocking 16 balls Saturday night as Minnesota blocked ten.

“The funny thing about blocking is that you can do everything right and have nothing to show for it, and you can make the absolute worst move ever and the hitter makes an even worse move and you get credited with something,” Sheffield said. “I don’t think our block was as bad as what our numbers were saying early [in the season] and I’m not sure the block is quite as good as the numbers are showing now.”

The Badgers were able to hold Minnesota’s leading offensive weapon, Daly Santana, to only seven kills after she killed 17 balls Wednesday night.

Coming out of the locker room, the Badgers as got off to a slow start once again to begin set three. They fell behind 8-3, as outside hitter Sarah Wilhite killed the first three balls of the set for the Gophers. Two straight attack errors from Bates and Thomas forced Sheffield to use his second timeout early in the set.

Off the timeout, Carlini set the ball for Nelson and she delivered in a big spot, as she did all night. A trio of kills from Carlini, Chapman and Thompson were part of a 4-0 UW run
that brought the Badgers within one at 10-9 and forced a Minnesota timeout.

“It’s nice to know that Lauren [Carlini] trusts me in big situations like that,” Nelson said. “When she does give me the ball, it’s up to me to put it away for her.”

When Wisconsin tied it up at 11-11, Nelson delivered yet again with two kills to put the Badgers up 13-11. Minnesota would tie it at 13, but UW regained the lead and never relinquished it again. The Gophers were caught out of serving rotation after a rally that would have tied the match at 15. Instead, it gave Wisconsin a 16-14 lead. The Badgers rallied their way to a 25-19 set victory, and won their sixth consecutive set against the Gophers after sweeping them Wednesday night as well.

The victory wraps up an unusual occasion in Big Ten volleyball (playing the same team in one week). Due to the lack of necessity to prepare for the second match compared to the first, Sheffield said he was thankful to the schedule makers for allowing him to spend more time with his family this week.

“I was able to spend more time with my family the past couple days than what normally is … that was great. Hallelujah.”

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