In a season that has featured only two winning streaks, none longer than two games, Wisconsin continued its up-and-down trend on the weekend with a four-set win Saturday over Northwestern.

A night after falling to No. 8 Illinois, the Badgers rebounded nicely on their home court, winning a tough match against the Wildcats that featured 25 ties and 12 lead changes. Wisconsin had a season-high 14 blocks, five of which came from freshman Kirby Toon, who also had 13 kills in the match.

Senior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner led the team with a match-high 17 kills, six of which came during the first set, which the Badgers also won 25-19.

Wisconsin dominated Northwestern at the start, getting the first point and not relinquishing the lead or even allowing a tie score during the first set. The Badgers’ biggest lead was seven points, and while the Wildcats cut the lead 23-19, they were never really in position to take a lead.

“That was a good win tonight — we responded well after coming off the loss last night,” UW head coach Pete Waite said. “We saw a much better offensive performance and the blocking was very strong.”

From a team standpoint, the defense was perhaps the most impressive aspect of the Badgers’ game. Along with the season-high 14 blocks, Wisconsin had three players with double digit digs, including a match-high 19 from libero Kim Kuzma.

On the offensive side, in addition from big nights from Dolgner and Toon, the Badgers also got a boost from Elle Ohlander, who returned from a knee injury with 10 kills and only two errors against the Wildcats.

But according to Dolgner, while the hitters were doing their part, the reason the Badgers were able to be so effective offensively was the strong play from setter Janelle Gabrielsen. The sophomore had 46 assists and eight digs, and Dolgner believes her stellar passing allowed for better opportunities at the net.

“I think that really has to do with how we dig the ball and how efficient Nellie is,” Dolgner said. “When the ball is dug right to her she can dish it anywhere. She’s really good at seeing where her blockers are … so I think that’s why I was getting a lot of kills.”

The second set didn’t go as smoothly for the Badgers. After leading the entire way through the first set, the Wildcats finally took the lead for the first time at 6-5 in the second. After eight tie scores and three lead changes, Northwestern pulled away and finished the set with a commanding 25-18 win.

Even though the Badgers quickly grabbed the momentum with their strong first set, Waite wasn’t surprised to see Northwestern snatch it back, especially with the talent the Wildcats possess.

“We knew this team comes a lot; they won in five against Indiana and Purdue, and those are two pretty strong teams, so we knew they were a resilient group,” Waite said. “And anytime you have a player like Sabel Moffett in the middle who can just fly and score, you’ve got an opportunity to come back, and that’s really what they did.”

For the rest of the match, neither team was able to fully ride the momentum.

After seven ties and six lead changes in the third set, the Badgers finally were able to come away with a huge 25-23 comeback win. Northwestern led the Badgers by as many as five points, but Wisconsin took eight of the last nine points to complete the huge comeback, which Waite noted as an integral part of the match.

“The turning point was in the third set when we were down late in the game,” Waite said. “That’s a pretty strong turn of events. It shows the composure of the team to hold them off and come back and get that. It really gave our team a lot of confidence going into the fourth [set].”

After losing to Illinois, the Badgers needed a win to stay put in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten.

While they may have expected a tough match against Northwestern, the contest’s back-and-forth nature made for a physically exhausting test. For Toon, however, the game’s difficulty made the win that much more enjoyable.

“I think physically it was a very demanding game,” Toon said. “But that’s when a match is most rewarding, when you have to fight for the win and you get it. I think mentally though we were really focused and really alert, so that was good.”