Hosting an opponent that at one point looked ready to hand the Badgers their first Big Ten loss of the season, No. 2 Wisconsin (6-0 Big Ten, 14-1 overall) staved off No. 24 Illinois (4-2 Big Ten, 11-6) by a score of 25-15, 18-25, 26-22, 25-19.
In the thrilling four-set UW victory at the UW Field House, Illinois gave Wisconsin a run for its money and a close match seemed hardly a guarantee considering how the first set played out.
Wisconsin stormed out of the starting gates strong, jumping out to a big lead thanks to a 9-2 run to open the match. Senior middle back Haleigh Nelson and sophomore middle back Tionna Williams greeted their visitors from across the border with four kills apiece in the first set, as the team combined for an impressive .387 hitting percentage.
After a dominating first set performance for Wisconsin, the Fighting Illini would return the favor in the following set. After a back-and-forth beginning to the second, Illinois’ Michelle Strizak came up with a kill to break a 6-6 tie, and her team would never look back.
After letting the lead slip away, the Badgers dug themselves into an even deeper hole, committing three straight errors, which led to a timeout midway through the set. The stoppage of play didn’t do much to lift Wisconsin out of its slump, as Illinois continued to pour it on, claiming a 16-8 advantage thanks to a 6-0 run. The Illini derailed Wisconsin with tremendous defense, holding the Badgers to a hitting percentage below .200.
With each team grabbing a set apiece, the third set had a raucous sellout crowd on the edge of their seats. With the score knotted at 11, the momentum swung into the clutches of the Illini, as a 9-5 run made the possibility of an upset seem more and more plausible.
Then, with Illinois a mere two points away from taking the set, Coach Kelly Sheffield called a timeout, hoping that the break would allow his team an opportunity to regroup. Unlike it had in the set before, the timeout worked, springing the Badgers to score four unanswered points. Finally able to find a rhythm, Wisconsin accounted for nine of the last ten points in the set, withstanding two set points to sneak away with a 26-24 set win.
"Obviously that third set was the comeback,” Sheffield said after the match. “I liked how we started playing clean, which we hadn't really played clean for most of the third and second sets. Our passing wasn't real great, we weren't serving real well and then our serving got us back into the match.”
Not to be overshadowed by the dramatic finish to the previous frame, set number four would prove no less entertaining. Tied 15-15, Williams provided the match-sealing surge, delivering four kills down the stretch, the last of which secured match-point. When it was all said and done, Williams ended the night with 18 kills to her name, marking a new career-high. Nelson also added two kills, seven digs and two blocks, while redshirt senior outside hitter Romana Kriskova recorded 10 kills and a service ace.
Nelson expressed satisfaction with the manner in which Wisconsin dealt with adversity, praising her team for staying resilient.
“As a team, we always altogether believe that we can win any set no matter what the score is,” Nelson said. “When you know that all six people on the floor and all nine people on the bench
believe that you can win a set, then you can really do anything.”
The Badgers will hit the floor again this upcoming Wednesday, as they take on No. 1 Minnesota at the Field House. First serve is set for 8 p.m.
