The No. 7 University of Wisconsin volleyball team (15-4, 9-1 Big Ten) extended their nine-game winning streak on Saturday, Oct. 26, sweeping No. 11 Purdue University (16-5, 7-3) 25-20, 25-23, 25-13 on Oct. 26.
The first set started as a balanced fight, with the Boilermakers having the 5-3 lead. This battle was cut short once Charlie Fuerbringer was sent back to the service line. After two aces, the Badger offense added four more kills to the board and a block, as well as three attack errors from Purdue, giving the Badgers the 14-5 lead. Fuerbringer ended her run on the line after 11 points. A continuous battle by Purdue added pressure on the Badgers, but they kept the momentum and ended set one 25-20.
The Badgers kicked off the second set with another serving run from Fuerbringer, giving the Badgers a 10-6 lead. Purdue had a hard time getting out of that rotation. Finally, with some pressure from Purdue, Wisconsin took a time-out with a one-point lead at 15-14. The Badgers once again dialed in defensively to keep the Boilermakers at 15 while they added another five points to the board. A great Badger block made by Carter Booth, Anna Smrek and Sarah Franklin had the squad in the lead 21-16. Two good kills and a block by Purdue put the game at 24-23, still with the Badgers taking the lead, but after one out-of-bounds hit by Purdue, the set went to the Badgers.
Leading 2-0, the Badgers started the third set off with a powerful kill by Smrek. Following this, Booth pulled out her two-handed slammer to get the Badgers in the lead 6-3. The 18th and 19th points for the Badgers both came from great blocks, putting the team at a 19-10 advantage. Purdue started running out of time after a major kill by Franklin put the team up 21-12. With this pressure, Purdue gave Wisconsin the game-winning point by a hit out of bounds.
Wisconsin only led with one more dig than Purdue, 53-52, and 39 kills in comparison to Purdue’s 33, which goes to show that offensively the teams were almost identical, but the Badgers defense is nothing to be messed with.
Wisconsin scored five aces — four by Fuerbringer, one by Booth, and none scored for Purdue. After this win, the Badgers sit at 9-1 in Big Ten play and are set to play the No. 2 University of Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Field House on Nov. 1.
