By Sam Karp
the daily cardinal
Unfortunately for the Badgers (9-1), a perfect season came to an end this weekend losing 3-2 to No. 5 Washington (11-0) in the Pac 12/Big Ten Showcase in Seattle, Washington.
However, the Badgers were able to bring home a huge victory early in the tournament, breezing by No. 10 Southern California (7-3) 3-1. After USC won the first set 25-21, the Badgers’ offense came to life and won the next three sets by an average of above six points.
The Badgers came out strong in the second set taking a 12-7 lead early on. Wisconsin continued to face little resistance as they extended their lead to 22-14 before the Trojans took three straight points to bring the game within five.
Redshirt senior middle back Dominique Thompson and sophomore middle back Haleigh Nelson each earned a kill on the next two points to give the Badgers set point and ultimately the 25-17 win.
The third set proved to be more of the same as the Badgers jumped out to a 22-16 lead before an ace by Trojan junior outside hitter Samantha Bricio forced Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield to take a timeout.
Sheffield’s timeout could not have worked out better for them, as Bricio hit her next serve into the net to give the ball back to the Badgers.
Sophomore setter Lauren Carlini and senior outside hitter Ellen Chapman took care of the rest for the Badgers earning one kill each to give Wisconsin the 2-1 set advantage.
While the Trojans came out strong to start the fourth set, taking a 16-11 advantage, they could not sustain their efforts as the Badgers brought the game to within four, trailing 20-16. Again the Trojans couldn’t stop the Badger offense, as Wisconsin took six straight points before taking the final set 25-21.
The win versus the Trojans set up the Badgers for their undefeated showdown with the home town Huskies. The matchup lived up to all of the pre-match hype, as the game went five sets.
Wisconsin started the back and forth battle on top, winning the first set 25-22. The Badgers came out strong in the set taking a 15-10 lead. The Huskies didn’t go away however, as they made a quick run to tie the game at 16. Washington continued to hang around until two errors by Washington gave Wisconsin a 24-21 lead and later, the first set.
The Huskies came back strong in the second set taking the tightly contested set 25-23. Washington lead the set 20-16 before the Badgers went on a four to zero run to tie up the set. Unfortunately for the Badgers, they couldn’t take a commanding 2-0 set lead as Washington went on a 3-0 run to end the set.
The third set, which had 12 ties, provided more back and forth drama. The game was tied up at 18-18 before back-to-back kills gave Wisconsin a 20-18 lead. Wisconsin continued to pull away in the set taking a commanding 24-21 lead before winning the set 25-21.
Down two sets to one the Huskies came out and dominated the entirety of the fourth set. Washington took an early 14-6 lead and never looked back winning the set 25-16.
The Huskies used the momentum from their dominating fourth set to the fifth and decisive set. Washington jumped out to a 7-4 lead before the Badgers went on a four to one run to tie the set. The Huskies responded with their own run to close out the set and take the set 15-12.
The Badgers have a quick turn around, as they open up Big Ten play at the UW Field House on Wednesday, where they’ll they take on the defending national champion Nittany Lions (12-1).
