The Wisconsin women’s volleyball (3-7 Big Ten, 15-8 overall) team lost a tough-fought match to Indiana (2-8, 10-12) Friday night.
The Badgers fell behind the Hoosiers early in the first set, but battled back to tie it at 11. In a set of hard earned points sophomore outside hitter Ellen Chapman scored six points, continuing her excellent game play from Wednesday’s match up against No. 10 Minnesota. The Badgers also had four errors, while Indiana had eight.
Wisconsin claimed the first set 25-19, but the Hoosiers came out in the second with a vengeance. Minnesota’s outside hitter Jordan Haverly had six kills and Indiana had three errors in comparison to the Badgers’ six errors. Still Chapman scored five points for Wisconsin.
In an emotional third set, both teams came out of the locker room seeking to take the lead. Senior middle blocker Alexis Mitchell had a great third set delivering five kills, a couple of which were too fast for Indiana setter Whitney Granado to react to.
“I just wanted to win,” said Mitchell when asked about the powerful delivery behind her kills.
Chapman also came out ready to play with 11 kills in the third set, and a total of 23 attacks for a .478 hitting percentage in the third set.
Indiana answered back in the third though, where play continued in a back and forth scoring session keeping fans on the edge of their seats until the 28-30 win by Indiana.
It was apparent late in the match that the hard fought third-set loss had an effect on the Badgers.
“It was pretty frustrating going up that high… we can’t let that affect our next game, we need to believe in ourselves and know that our teammates have our back,” junior libero Annemarie Hickey said. The Badgers stuck with Indiana for a while in the fourth set but ultimately lost 21-25.
The night did have some high points for Wisconsin. Chapman had a personal high of 24 kills and Hickey had 19 digs in the night, strengthening her reputation as an excellent defensive player for the Badgers.
Wisconsin will be facing Illinois Oct. 26.
