Wisconsin (8-4 Big Ten, 16-6 overall) extended its conference winning streak to four straight games by beating No. 17 Purdue (8-3, 17-5) in four sets and sweeping Indiana (3-9, 13-11) this weekend at home.
The Badgers took on Purdue on Friday night and won 25-18, 19-25, 25-20, 25-22 in front of a soldout UW Field House.
Sophomore outside hitter Kelli Bates led the Badgers offense, tying her career high of 17 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Lauryn Gillis tallied 16 kills and redshirt junior outside hitter Romana Kriskova added 12 as well.
“I thought Kelli Bates battled really well tonight,” said Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield. “They put an awful lot a pressure on her (in) serve receive, and we gave her an awful lot of sets. She was passing by far the majority of the balls. She passed 42 serves tonight and the next highest was 12, so they were really targeting her.”
The Badgers hit .275 (64 kills, 23 errors, 149 total attempts) while Purdue hit .218 (50-19-142).
After Wisconsin won the first set by going on a 13-6 run, Purdue bounced back to take a 14-7 lead in the second set. UW cut the score to 21-18 thanks to a 3-1 run, capped by freshman outside hitter Madison Duello’s first career service ace. However, the Badgers would not get any closer, as Purdue would take the second set.
“Madison, she got us back (into the match) and made a couple nice digs,” Sheffield said. “I thought Amber (MacDonald) and Madison, both of those guys, got us on some nice runs and the comeback was nice. Amber there in the fourth really did a good job and then we brought Madison out of the bullpen to pick up that last point.”
UW would go on to win the next two sets, which were both back-and-forth battles. The Badgers only led 23-21 in the final set before closing out the game.
UW followed that up Sunday by sweeping the Hoosiers 25-16, 25-17, 25-12 to record their fifth conference sweep of the season.
“They put up a great fight just like every other Big Ten team,” junior middle blocker Haleigh Nelson said. “We came in ready to take care of business, but still had a great time out there. I didn’t feel like the enthusiasm dropped at all. It wasn’t just business. We came out ready to work and it showed.”
Wisconsin put on an impressive offensive performance, hitting a season-high .403 (41 kills, 10 errors, 77 total attempts) while Indiana only hit .047 (25-21-85). Bates and Nelson both recorded match-high 11 kills while freshman middle blocker Tionna Williams tallied seven.
The Badgers also excelled on defense, as they outblocked Indiana 7-3 and outdug the Hoosiers 31-23. Williams led UW with five blocks while senior libero Taylor Morey recorded nine digs and junior setter Lauren Carlini had six.
For the Badgers’ next game, they will face No. 25 Michigan on Friday at 7 p.m. at the UW Field House.
