With just under a week until the NCAA Tournament gets underway, No. 3 Wisconsin took the court this week and split its last two matches of the year to wrap up the 2016 regular season.
Wednesday night, the Badgers (17-3 Big Ten, 25-4 overall) made their last appearance at the UW Field House this season, treating a sellout crowd of Wisconsin faithful to a four-set triumph over the Iowa Hawkeyes (19-12, 9-10).
Three days later, set to encounter much stiffer competition, Wisconsin ventured off to Minnesota and fell to the second-ranked Gophers (17-3, 25-4) for the second time this season.
Celebrating Senior Night at the Field House, the Badgers made it look easy Wednesday night, upending Iowa by a score of 25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 25-7. Wisconsin overpowered the Hawkeyes on both sides of the ball, posting a tremendous .398 attack percentage while winning the block battle on defense 12-6.
Sophomore middle Tionna Williams showcased her versatile skill set, leading the way with a team-best 14 kills along with a match-high seven blocks. The quality victory over Iowa set the stage for the weekend’s main event: a marquee matchup with Minnesota on Saturday night.
Although Wisconsin had Minnesota on the ropes in the early stages of the match, the Badgers saw a 2-1 match-lead evaporate before their very eyes, dropping the last three sets en route to a grueling five-set defeat: 25-22, 17-25, 25-11, 17-25, 8-15.
The Badgers largely outplayed Minnesota in the early going, but fell victim to a string of serving woes, which cost Wisconsin several prime opportunities to pull away from the opposition. The Badgers committed a whopping eleven service errors through the first two sets, allowing Minnesota to stay within striking distance despite having a sluggish start to the match.
While sloppy play certainly did Wisconsin harm throughout the first couple of sets, the slew of service miscues failed to compromise it completely, as the Badgers would find a way to overcome the turbulence and head into the third set clinging to 1-1 tie.
After both of the previous sets were decided by fairly thin margins, Wisconsin kicked it into overdrive, putting together one of its most superb sets of the season in the third. Dominating from start to finish, the prolific Badgers offense fired on all cylinders, as they relentlessly attacked Minnesota's defensive front in full force, gashing the Gopher defense with a gaudy .444 hitting percentage.
The 11-point blowout featured contributions from a variety of players, as four different Badgers each tallied three kills in the set. The Wisconsin defense made a major difference as well, holding a listless Minnesota attack to a season-low 11 points.
Having gained the upper hand in the third set to go up 2-1, Wisconsin looked poised to pick up a signature win on the final day of its regular season.
But Minnesota, a team that hadn’t lost at home in two seasons, was not going to go away quietly. After struggling to find its footing on offense all night long, the Gophers finally turned it around in the fourth. Jumping out to a 13-9 lead, Minnesota’s previously sporadic offense jolted back to life and never looked back.
The Gophers played close to mistake-free volleyball in the frame, racking up 20 kills and committing just three errors in the match-tying 25-17 victory.
The comeback charge continued in the fifth set, with Minnesota outside hitter Sarah Wilhite taking center stage. A 6-1 All-Big Ten player, the standout senior served as the focal point of the Gophers’ offense, striking down a team-high 23 kills, seven of which came during the match’s final set. After Minnesota claimed a commanding 14-6 lead over UW, Wilhite put the nail in the coffin, ending the five-set thriller with a match-winning kill.
Junior defensive specialist Kelli Bates saved 22 digs, eclipsing the one thousandth-dig plateau while Molly Haggerty hit a team-high 17 kills.
Sunday night, Wisconsin earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They will take on Howard (26-5) in the first round Thursday at the UW Field House.
