The Wisconsin Badgers (11-2 Big Ten, 19-3 overall) came away from Columbus, Ohio, with another win over a ranked opponent, No. 22 Ohio State (5-8, 15-10), despite being without star freshman Molly Haggerty, who was out with a leg injury.
Wisconsin got behind early in the first set, losing 12-8, but went on a late five-point run to earn a 19-16 lead. After getting a lead, the Badgers didn’t look back, earning a first set victory over the Buckeyes 25-19. The crucial player in the set was junior Lauryn Gillis, who had six kills.
The second set was even closer than the first, as the teams were tied seven times through the first 26 points. The teams continued to go toe-to-toe until they were tied 24-24, before UW finished off the set by scoring the final two points.
The Badgers fell behind early in the third set, trailing 6-4, but they would quickly tie it up at 6. Wisconsin took a 12-11 lead and didn’t relinquish it for the rest of the set, finishing the sweep with a 25-22 third set win. The key to the Badgers winning the third set was redshirt senior Romana Kriskova, who had seven kills.
"Romana was again great," Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said, according to UWBadgers.com. "She's been really, really good the past few weeks no matter who she's playing against, at home and on the road."
The two crucial players on the night for the Badgers, Gillis and Kriskova, are both transfer players making an impact. For a team that only has three transfer players, having two of them lead the team in kills for a match is unexpected.
In fact, Gillis and Kriskova have led the team in kills the past two matches. This is because Gillis has fully recovered from an ankle injury that she suffered earlier in the season. Along with Gillis coming back, the injury to Haggerty has given the opportunity for Kriskova to shine, leading to her being one of the leaders in kills in the past two matches.
The Badgers will head back home as they face Purdue at the UW Field House Saturday at 7 p.m.
