Wisconsin’s dominating performance against Indiana would seem like just another solid win to an ordinary observer.
The Badgers swept the match in three sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-12) and led for the entirety of the first and second sets, in which the Hoosiers never so much as tied Wisconsin.
Tionna Williams finished with five blocks, two shy of her single-match high, and fellow middle blocker Haleigh Nelson and outside hitter Kelly Bates each led the Badgers with 11 kills. Not to mention that the match was over in one hour and 17 minutes, one of the team’s quickest matches this season.
Head coach Kelly Sheffield, while pleased with the majority of the performance, voiced some of his thoughts afterwards.
“I thought we hesitated a lot defensively early on,” Sheffield said. “I thought we hesitated in serve-receive early on. Those weren’t things I think we should be doing in November.”
Wisconsin’s play was shaky at times during the early parts of sets, most notably the second. It took 19 points until the Badgers took a 10-9 lead, their first in the set. A sequence that included two Wisconsin attacking errors, and an Amber MacDonald service error during which the Badgers couldn’t seem to grasp any consistent momentum.
After that 10th point for Wisconsin, the team began to pull away on a 7-3 run capped by William’s fifth block. An emphatic put-back that solidified the Badgers’ control and forced an Indiana timeout immediately following.
“I know if I personally mess up, then my teammates have my back,” Williams said. “We can bounce back quickly and that we’re just handling business. We’re competing really well.”
The Badgers went on to take the second set and then the third in quick succession. In each set, they attacked at .440 percent and .407 percent respectively — products of the team’s conscious efforts to remain competitive and in control.
“Starting out in the second set, we had a couple of mental errors,” Williams said. “Towards the middle we started picking ourselves up, communicating more. Things picked up from there.”
Wisconsin’s turnaround midway through that second set is a departure from a reoccurring theme this season. One in which, after cruising through the first set, they let their opponent back into the match by dropping the second.
Matches against Minnesota, Purdue, Louisville and Western Kentucky all followed this pattern, where Wisconsin has fared 2-2 in terms of their record. A number of other matches mimicked this pattern in slightly different formats as well.
But this match showcased an ability the team hasn’t quite shown off yet, one that comes with maturity. They were able to shut the door on a dogged opponent and seal the match early by holding off their charge.
“I had a couple mental errors in the first set and I wasn’t coming out swinging hard like I should have,” Nelson said. “Kelly let me know that right before the second set. I went out ready to go and I wasn’t going to let anything phase me.”
