MATCH STATS
- #3 Wisconsin knocks down #18 Michigan (23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-13)
- Wisconsin (23-3, 15-2), Michigan (21-8, 10-7)
No. 3 Wisconsin defeated No. 18 Michigan for the Badgers’ eighth win in a row, and 11th win over a AVCA ranked opponent through the 2016 season.
Wisconsin both out dug and out blocked the Wolverines. Badger freshman Molly Haggerty led the team with 22 kills and 13 digs, earning her sixth career double-double. Senior Lauren Carlini finished with 58 assists to tie her season high record. She also had 12 digs to add her 16th double-double this season.
QUOTES
“I thought we got a lot better with understanding where they were attacking,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffieldsaid. “We got our hands in better position (blocking) and I thought our backcourt defense was phenomenal, especially as the match was going on. I lost track of how many balls we covered from our attackers hitting and blocking and us just battling and fighting to keep the ball off the floor and getting more swings.
“I thought Lauren (Carlini) did a great job with mixing the game plan but also with what she was seeing. It was a great team effort. I thought everybody was playing really well and at a high level. Molly (Haggerty) hitting 22 kills and hitting .432, those are pretty big numbers. They were also putting an awful lot of serves on her and (she was) holding the fort down with that. It’s just a really good team effort for us.”
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics
MADISON, Wis. — After a first-set stumble, the No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team rebounded to defeat No. 18 Michigan, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 25-13, on Friday night in the UW Field House.
The 3-1 victory marks the Badgers’ eighth consecutive win and 11th win over a ranked opponent this season.
“I thought we got a lot better with understanding where they were attacking,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffieldsaid. “We got our hands in better position (blocking) and I thought our backcourt defense was phenomenal, especially as the match was going on. I lost track of how many balls we covered from our attackers hitting and blocking and us just battling and fighting to keep the ball off the floor and getting more swings.
“I thought Lauren (Carlini) did a great job with mixing the game plan but also with what she was seeing. It was a great team effort. I thought everybody was playing really well and at a high level. Molly (Haggerty) hitting 22 kills and hitting .432, those are pretty big numbers. They were also putting an awful lot of serves on her and (she was) holding the fort down with that. It’s just a really good team effort for us.”
Wisconsin (23-3, 15-2 Big Ten) recorded a .344 attack percentage (70 kills – 17 errors – 154 attempts) while holding the Wolverines (21-8, 10-7 Big Ten) to .160 percent (47-22-156). The Badgers put on a balanced performance, out blocking (13-9) and out digging (73-55) Michigan for the match.
Freshman Molly Haggerty led all players with 22 kills while adding 13 digs for her sixth career double-double. Three Badgers joined Haggerty in double-figure kills, as junior Lauryn Gilliscontributed 16, sophomore Tionna Williams added 13, and redshirt senior Romana Kriskova put away 10 kills.
Senior Lauren Carlini tabbed 58 assists to tie her season-high, adding 12 digs for her Big Ten-leading 16th double-double this year. Her performance moved into second on the UW career record list for assists.
Senior Haleigh Nelson led the defense with seven blocks, tying her season-high, while Williams and Carlini both notched six blocks. Junior Kelli Bates led all players with 21 digs while sophomore Amber MacDonald saved nine digs.
The Badgers took a 12-9 lead to being the first set, but Michigan stormed back with an 8-2 run to claim a 16-14 advantage. The Badgers forced Michigan to use both timeouts during a 6-1 streak, but the Wolverines won six of the next seven points to finish out the set, 25-23.
“I liked the way we were playing, even in the first set,” Sheffield said. “It’s not one of those things where you win and you feel like you’re playing well, and you lose and you’re not playing well. It’s not often you hit .405 and lose. That just rarely happens.
“I wasn’t upset or frustrated with our defensive effort in the first, but we were better defensively the last three sets and I thought we were a lot better serving wise after the first set. I thought we did a better job with driving.”
UW responded right away in the second frame, leading 11-5 after back-to-back kills from Haggerty. Michigan came back with three unanswered points, but the Badgers widened the lead to 18-10 on a 7-2 stretch. The Wolverines outscored the Badgers 8-7 at the end of the set, but the Badgers’ lead proved to be too much as a kill from Gillis won the set, 25-18, and tied the match at one set apiece.
Wisconsin’s block picked it up in the third set as UW has five team blocks to hold the Wolverines to a match-low .026 hitting percentage (7-6-39) and securing a 2-1 match lead with the 25-17 win. The Badgers terminated four-straight kills to take a 6-3 lead before opening up the gap, 18-11, on a 6-1 run and forcing a Michigan timeout. Wisconsin won the set on a Williams and Carlini block.
The Badgers commanded the final set, putting away 20 kills and committing only two attack errors. Michigan took a timeout after Wisconsin raced to a 7-4 start, but the break didn’t deter the Badgers from going on a 6-1 tear to lead 13-5. The Wolverines were able to gain some ground with a 4-1 run, but Wisconsin shut them down with five unanswered points, including a powerful kill from Carlini.
“I just shut my eyes and hit really hard,” Carlini said. “Setters can hit, too!”
Wisconsin finished out the set on a 6-4 run to secure the 25-13 win.
Up Next: The Badgers will host No. 13 Michigan State Saturday.
Badger Stats
Molly Haggerty (22 kills, 1 assist, 13 digs, 3 blocks)
Lauryn Gillis (16 kills, 1 dig, 2 blocks)
Tionna Williams (13 kills, 1 dig, 6 blocks)
Follow Wisconsin on Facebook, Twitter @BadgerVB and Instagram @wisconsinvolleyball
Courtesy of Michigan Athletics
MADISON, Wis. — Three players totaled double-figure kills on Friday night (Nov. 18) as the No. 18-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team dropped a four-set match at No. 3 Wisconsin in the second stop of a three-match road swing.
Michigan took the first three points of the match at UW Field House on kills from Abby Cole and Katherine Mahlke, but a four-point run by the Badgers turned over the lead. From there, the teams battled for an edge, and a kill from Carly Skjodt at 14-14 gave the Wolverines a lead. The Badgers then regained the lead at 19-18 when a Badger challenge resulted in an overturned point, but a Michigan challenge just a few points later resulted in another overturned call to put Michigan within one point at 22-21. The momentum shift was key for the Wolverines, as a kill from Murphy tied the game and allowed Claire Kieffer-Wright to rattle off three consecutive kills for a 25-23 first-set victory.
A Michigan service error gave the Badgers the first point of set two, and the lead was set from there. A .143 attack average in the second set and five kills from Cole were not enough in the second set of the day, as Wisconsin took the game by a 25-18 score.
A big block by Cole got things going in the third set, and the set featured five tie scores, before Wisconsin pulled away for a 15-10 lead to force a Michigan timeout. Hitting just .167 in the set, the Wolverines were unable to bridge the gap, falling in set three by a 25-17 score.
Down 2-1, Michigan fought hard early in the first set to keep a lead within reach. Despite the full court press, a 9-1 Wisconsin run put the Badgers up 13-5, burning both of Michigan’s timeouts early on. With just one block and eight kills in the fourth game of the ninth, the Maize and Blue dropped the set, 25-13.
Despite a .160 team attack average, three Wolverines finished the night with double-figure kills. Kieffer-Wright and Cole finished the day with a team-high 12, while Kelly Murphy picked up 10. Kieffer-Wright has now finished the last five matches with kills in double digits.
Defensively, Jenna Lerg led the charge with 19 digs, while Murphy and MacKenzi Welsh each totaled nine, and Skjodt picked up eight. From the front row, Kieffer-Wright led the Wolverines with four blocks, and Cole recorded three.
Up Next: Michigan will travel to face Minnesota Sunday at 1 p.m.
Wolverine Stats
Abby Cole (12 kills, 3 blocks)
Claire Kieffer-Wright (12 kills, 4 blocks)
Kelly Murphy (10 kills, 9 digs, 1 block)
Jenna Lerg (2 assists, 19 digs)
Follow Michigan on Facebook, Twitter @umichvball and Instagram @umichathletics
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