The Wisconsin volleyball team still has yet to record a win in conference play after falling both No. 18 Michigan (4-1 Big Ten, 15-2 overall) and Michigan State (2-4 Big Ten, 10-7 overall) this past weekend. The Badgers are now 0-6 in the Big Ten and 11-6 overall.
Wisconsin came out dull in the first set against Michigan Friday night.
""The Wolverines were passing some great balls and really running their offense,"" head coach Pete Waite said.""We did come out strong in the second half, but just couldn't finish them off.""
Sophomore middle blocker Mary Ording helped the Badgers start off strong in the second set, contributing five kills in the set. Sophomore middle blocker Alexis Mitchell also had an important kill in the set, tying it at 24-24. However, the Michigan Wolverines were helped by two game-changing kills from senior setter Lexi Zimmerman to close off the match. The third set was also close, with the score tied 17-17 before the Wolverines went on a 3-0 run. Hitting errors by the Badgers gave free points to the Wolverines, as Michigan went on to win 25-21.
Mitchell led both teams with 15 kills and junior setter Janelle Gabrielsen led the team with 28 assists and 10 digs. Michigan out-hit Wisconsin with 47 kills compared to the Badgers' 38. Junior outside hitter Alex Hunt led the Wolverines with 12 kills and junior libero Sloane Donhoff had 13 digs on the night.
The Badgers put up a strong fight Saturday against Michigan State, but fell to the Spartans in five sets. After dropping the first two sets, coach Waite decided to make some significant changes to the line-up. These changes worked well for Wisconsin, as the Badgers grabbed sets three and four. Wisconsin was unable to close out the last set however, falling 15-11.
The Spartans' momentum fueled the first two sets of the match, and despite blocks by freshman defensive specialist/outside hitter Annemarie Hickey and Mitchell, Wisconsin was not able to come up with a win. Hickey made the difference in the third set though, as she came up with a few huge kills in the set.
With the score17-14, the Badgers went on an 8-3 run. They eventually won the set with a big kill from Hickey. The fourth set had eight ties, but the Badgers were able to pull out a 9-2 run to win 25-17. It all came down to the fifth set, which began similarly to the previous two. The Badgers and Spartans were tied at 10-10 until Spartan Junior setter Natalie Emro finished the set with a huge kill, giving the Spartans a 15-11 win.
Hickey had one of her best matches this season as she ended the night with 15 kills and 10 digs. She also had a career high of two blocks in the match. Ording had 13 kills in the match, while Mitchell and Gabrielsen also added ten kills each.
""It was a nice, balanced attack,"" coach Waite said after the match. ""We liked everything except the result. We battled and came back from a huge deficit.""
The Badgers return to the UW Fieldhouse this weekend to face Indiana and Purdue.
