The record-breaking Badgers’ (18-1 Big Ten, 31-3 overall) season had to come to an end eventually, but to have it come from fellow Big Ten competitor Penn State (18-2, 34-3) made it sting just a little more. Wisconsin fell in four sets 25-22, 16-25, 22-25, 19-25 Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Badgers have a history of losing to the Nittany Lions, beginning with the NCAA national title match last season, and following through this season as two of Wisconsin’s three losses this year. Although Wisconsin did not advance to the Final Four again, they did have a successful season, winning the Big Ten and receiving numerous awards for individual play. Members of the team received Big Ten Player of the Year (Lauren Carlini), Big Ten Coach of the Year (Kelly Sheffield) and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (Taylor Morey).
The Badgers had an exciting tournament showing prior to facing Penn State, defeating Ohio State (12-8, 23-12) Friday night, and Illinois State (27-6) and Western Michigan (22-14) last weekend at the UW Field House.
The rematch of Penn State did not go in Wisconsin’s favor, but it showed the tenacity of the Big Ten conference.
Wisconsin had a glimpse of victory over the Nittany Lions in the first set, winning 25-23. Then, disaster struck as star sophomore setter Lauren Carlini went down with what turned out to be a sprained ankle. Wisconsin's most important player went into the locker room to be evaluated and was back on the sideline within ten minutes.
However, the Badgers were never the same with a hobbled Carlini. Penn State outplayed Wisconsin in the following sets, winning 25-16, 25-22 and 25-19 to advance on in hopes for another national title.
The Nittany Lions beat the Badgers nearly across the board in kills, assists, digs and aces. Penn State redshirt junior outside hitter Alyana Whitney had a team high total of 16 kills to the Badgers’ peak of 13 from their top hitter of the night, senior hitter Courtney Thomas. Senior setter Micha Hancock had more assists than Carlini, leading 45-38, as well as a match high of two aces, although Carlini did tally her 18th double-double of the season with 10 digs complimenting her setting. Senior libero Dominique Gonzalez out-dug junior Taylor Morey 24-17. The Badgers’ sophomore middle blocker Haleigh Nelson did perform better than senior Penn State leading blocker Nia Grant 9-5.
Losing was not the desired outcome, and after the season Wisconsin had, brought disappointment among the Badgers.
“It’s tough any time that your season ends and you’re with people that you love and everybody is just moving in the same direction,” Sheffield said. “As far as the match, I thought it was two teams that were just battling like crazy. It was a great sporting event.”
Adding to that sporting event were Badger leaders Carlini and Thomas, who were named NCAA Louisville Regional All-Tournament team players after their match.
Although the Badgers’ loss cannot be credited by one component, the 14 service errors created a big problem for their play.
“There is a lot of punch and if they are in system then it’s going to be pretty tough. One to 14, that’s not a very good ratio,” Sheffield said. “We had quite a few service errors, whether that was the difference in the match, I don’t know or not.”
Even just the one set the Badgers took from the Nittany Lions is an accomplishment, as Penn State was on a 50-set winning streak. They had not lost a set since Oct. 17 against Purdue.
The Saturday match not only closes the season for the Badgers, but the careers for the seven Wisconsin seniors: Ellen Chapman, Kt Kvas, Julie Mikaelsen, Deme Morales, Courtney Thomas, Dominique Thompson and Caroline Workman.
“It’s going to be hard,” Thomas said about the season’s end. “It’s going to be really hard, but I hope the best for them next year and I hope they can pull it out and do even better than we did this year.”
