The University of Wisconsin volleyball team (9-2) continued their road stand as they traveled to West Lafayette, Indiana, where they defeated the No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers (13-1) 3–0 Saturday night.
The Wisconsin offense and hitting staff got off to an early start in the first set with the Badgers jumping out to a 13–5 run. It wasn’t just one hitter taking charge, as a cumulative effort came from Dana Rettke, Tionna Williams and Madison Duello all recording kills in the opening run.
The Boilermakers attempted to creep back into the set, responding with a 5–1 run and capitalizing on Badger errors. However, the Badgers cleaned up those uncommon errors quickly, as they would respond with a 6–0 run led by Sydney Hilley getting all her hitters involved and even recording a sneaky kill of her own.
Volleyball: Badgers falter in tough matchup versus No. 6 Gophers, Purdue up next
In a set of runs, the Badgers led 23–14 before they let Purdue come back into set one. A Boilermaker 10–1 run made the score 24–23. Wisconsin, knowing the first set is crucial in gaining the initial momentum edged out the Boilermakers first set 25–23.
The second set continued a competitive matchup between two of the top Big Ten teams. With Hilley recording, the first two kills of the set for the Badgers, Rettke and company took over. Taking advantage of nine Purdue errors throughout the set, the Badgers battled to a six-point win in the second set finishing 25–19.
With Wisconsin up two sets to none, Purdue was facing their first home court sweep barring a comeback. Even though the Boilermakers led most of the third set, it was never by more than four points. A late 6–2 run by the Badgers tied the third set at 23 and made a shutout sweep seem increasingly likely.
Men’s soccer: Badgers grind out road win over Marquette, look toward Michigan State
After dropping the swing point to Purdue making it 24–23 Boilermakers, the Badgers rallied back with three straight kills from Duello. Wisconsin went on to win the third set 26–24 and sweep the Boilermakers 3–0.
Stat leaders for the Badgers include Rettke with 15 kills and two aces, Danielle Hart with four blocks and Hilley with a total 33 assists through three sets. Molly Haggerty also showed her versatility on both sides of the ball as the leading passer with 10 digs from the back row.
After facing their fifth ranked opponent of the season, the schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Badgers. 3–2 against ranked opponents this season and 1–1 against Big Ten ranked opponents, Wisconsin’s next matchup will be pivotal in increasing both of those records.
Football: Wisconsin’s path to playoff anything but unprecedented
The Badgers will face their third ranked opponent in a row in their third consecutive road game as they travel to No. 7 Illinois Wednesday. The Fighting Illini have faced a total of six ranked opponents this season, dropping just one of those matches. The most recent loss was to No. 3 Nebraska as they will look to regain momentum against Wisconsin Wednesday night.
Wisconsin will have to shut down Fighting Illini big hitter Jacqueline Quade. The 6’2” junior outside hitter sits third in the Big Ten with 4.16 kills per set and has 229 kills on the season so far.
The match will take place Wednesday at 8 p.m. from Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
