MATCH STATS
- #4 Wisconsin defeats #10 Penn State in 4 (25-16, 25-18, 18-25, 25-21)
- Wisconsin (17-3, 9-2), Penn State (17-5, 9-2)
The No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers took their first win this season against the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions Friday night with a 4-set victory (25-16, 25-18, 18-25, 25-21) at home.
This is the second loss in a row for Penn State after their 15-game winning streak. Not only is this Wisconsin’s first win over the Lions this season, but they haven’t defeated Penn State since 2011.
Now knocked off the top of the Big Ten lead, Wisconsin is tied 9-2 in the Big Ten.
The Badgers took the first two sets without much of a fight, with 9 and 7 point leads, respectively. After the third-set loss, the Badgers fought their way back in the fourth set.
“You see a lot of energy from these guys,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said, “because this is the one team they haven’t beaten in this conference. It’s a good win. Certainly, not anything we’re surprised by. You look at the stats and 20 more digs and I think that says an awful lot about the match right there. I felt our players battled like crazy.”
“We’ve had a couple rough matches over the past few weeks,” senior Haleigh Nelson said. “When we dipped in that third set and we had a chance to come back in the fourth, we welcome that challenge because we’ve been really trying to work on our grit and our toughness.
“Even though we didn’t have a clean sweep with Penn State, it really showed a lot of our heart that we were in it and overcome that dip because we’ve been really working to face challenges and be strong and confident in challenges. While maybe you can look at it and say we kind of fell off a little bit in the third set, honestly it means a lot more that we were able to take that and respond.”
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics
MADISON, Wis. — For the first time since becoming Badgers, the senior class of the volleyball team claimed a victory over Penn State. No. 4 Wisconsin topped the 10th-ranked Nittany Lions, 25-16, 25-18, 18-25, 25-21, in front of another sold-out crowd at the UW Field House on Friday night.
The 3-1 victory marks the Badgers’ first over Penn State since 2011.
“You see a lot of energy from these guys,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said, “because this is the one team they haven’t beaten in this conference. It’s a good win. Certainly, not anything we’re surprised by. You look at the stats and 20 more digs and I think that says an awful lot about the match right there. I felt our players battled like crazy.”
After surging to lead the match 2-0, the Badgers’ offense faltered in the third set, hitting only .053 percent (9 kills -7 errors -38 attempts), and PSU was able to take the third set and cut the Wisconsin lead to 2-1.
“We’ve had a couple rough matches over the past few weeks,” senior Haleigh Nelson said. “When we dipped in that third set and we had a chance to come back in the fourth, we welcome that challenge because we’ve been really trying to work on our grit and our toughness.
“Even though we didn’t have a clean sweep with Penn State, it really showed a lot of our heart that we were in it and overcome that dip because we’ve been really working to face challenges and be strong and confident in challenges. While maybe you can look at it and say we kind of fell off a little bit in the third set, honestly it means a lot more that we were able to take that and respond.”
The Badgers (17-3 overall, 9-2 Big Ten) came out swinging in the final set, taking a 3-0 lead. Wisconsin forced Penn State (17-5, 9-2 Big Ten) to use both of its timeouts early in the set, securing a 16-10 lead after scoring three unanswered points. PSU responded with runs of its own, closing in on the Badgers, 21-19, but a Badger block and a commanding kill from junior Lauryn Gillis sealed the set, 25-21, and the match victory.
“Gilly was great,” Sheffield said. “That’s what we saw before her injury. I know she’s been a little bit frustrated with coming back. She was out and as soon as she was cleared to go, we threw her out there into the wolves that is the Big Ten. There can be some hard lessons when you’re not in the gym every single day for an extended period of time, and that’s what you run against.”
Wisconsin hit .331 percent for the match (67 – 19 – 145), holding the Nittany Lions to .216 percent (44-14-139). Penn State out-blocked the Badgers 12-8 through four sets, while both teams served up five aces.
Four Badgers hit double-figure kills, led by Gillis with a career-high 21 kills. The 6-foot, 1-inch outside hitter committed only three errors on 46 attacks for a .391 attack average. Freshman Molly Haggerty added 16 kills, while senior Haleigh Nelson finished off 13 kills while adding an ace and five digs. Redshirt senior Romana Kriskova contributed 10 kills.
Sophomore Tionna Williams recorded a team-high five blocks to lead the UW defense, while senior Lauren Carlini tallied 17 digs and four blocks.
Carlini dished off a match-high 57 assists for her 67th career double-double, as well as notching two service aces. Kelli Bates saved a match-leading 22 digs, marking the fifth time this season the junior has recorded 20-or-more digs in a match. The Badgers finished with an impressive 73 to 53 advantage in digs.
Wisconsin hit .667 percent (20-0-30) in set one despite starting the set even through 8-8 with the Lions. The Badgers had six consecutive kills during a 10-2 run, taking a 19-10 lead that PSU would be unable to overcome. Wisconsin took the 1-0 match lead, 25-16, on a kill from Nelson.
The second set stayed much closer, featuring 10 ties and three lead changes. At the first media timeout Wisconsin narrowly trailed, 15-14, but won five of the next six points to start pulling away. Another Nelson kill gave the Badgers a 22-18 lead, forcing a PSU timeout. UW closed out the final three points for the 25-18 set win.
Penn State forced a fourth set with its 25-18 win in set three, outscoring UW late in the set while outblocking the Badgers 5-2 and serving up four aces. The teams were tied through 15-15, but the Nittany Lions stormed through a 10-3 run to keep the Badgers from earning a sweep.
Up Next: The Badgers return to the UW Field House to host Rutgers on Sunday. The sold out match begins at 1 p.m.
Wisconsin Stats
Lauryn Gillis (21 kills)
Molly Haggerty (16 kills, 4 assists)
Lauren Carlini (2 aces, 4 blocks 57 assists, 17 digs)
Haleigh Nelson (13 kills, 1 ace, 3 blocks)
Follow the Badgers on Facebook, Instagram @wisconsinvolleyball and Twitter @BadgerVB
Courtesy of Penn State Athletics
MADISON, Wisc. – The No. 10 Penn State women’s volleyball team (17-5, 9-2 Big Ten) fell in a tough, 3-1 (16-25, 18-25, 25-18, 21-25) match at the hands of the No. 4 Wisconsin Badgers (17-3, 9-2 Big Ten), inside UW Fieldhouse Friday evening.
The Nittany Lions were led on offense by the outsides once again, with junior outside hitters Simone Lee and Ali Frantti leading the way, each scoring in double-figures. Lee led the team with 19, while Frantti added 11 in the four-set defeat.
Penn State out-blocked the Badgers, 12.0-8.0, with five Nittany Lions logging multi-block nights. Junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington led the way with six and added six kills, while classmate Heidi Thelen added four blocks and five kills of her own. Junior setter Abby Detering had a trio of rejections and a team-high 36 assists. Lee and redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell both posted a pair of blocks as well.
The Nittany Lions have no time to dwell on the setback, continuing their tough road swing tomorrow evening, where the team will face No. 3 Minnesota in Minneapolis. The match will be played in Sports Pavilion, with first serve set for 7:30 p.m. ET. The match is set to broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network.
The opening set went back and forth early, before consecutive kills from Washington and Frantti gave PSU a 5-3 lead. Two plays later Detering scored on a kill of her own to give PSU a two-point, 6-4 advantage. Wisconsin tied the match at 8-all, when a back row kill from Frantti gave PSU a 9-8 lead. The Badgers responded with a 4-0 run, when the Nittany Lions called for their first timeout, behind 12-9. Wisconsin scored three more times before and error made it a five-point set in Wisconsin’s favor, 15-10. The Badgers went on to score three more consecutive points before PSU used its second timeout, trailing 18-10.
Penn State and Wisconsin went back and forth out of the break, swapping points, but the effort proved not to be enough. Wisconsin outscored Penn State, 7-6, in the final 13 plays to take the first, 25-16.
Washington nailed the ball on the slide to open the second set. The two sides tussled, as kills and an ace from Lee tied the second frame at 6-6. Both sides committed errors before tying once again at 8-all. The Nittany Lions built a small gap, as a monster kill from Detering and a block from Washington and Lee the next play made the score 11-9 in PSU’s favor. Another kill on the slide from Washington the next play extended the lead to three at 12-9. The Badgers responded with a run of their own, tying the match at 14-all. Thelen scored the next play with a deft touch, giving PSU a 15-14 lead headed into the media timeout.
The Badgers scored three in a row out of the break before a kill from Lee pulled Penn State within one at 17-16. Wisconsin scored twice more, prompting the first Penn State timeout, behind 19-16. An overturned call three plays later gave Wisconsin a 21-17 edge, before Washington responded with a kill to close the gap to three. The Badgers closed out the second on a 4-0 run to take the two set lead with a 25-18 win.
Penn State took the first three points of the third set, first forcing an error before an ace from Frantti and a block by Lee. Wisconsin tied the match at 4-4, before Detering posted a block and an ace the next play to take a 6-4 lead. Wisconsin tied the match at 7-all, before a kill from Thelen and a block by Frantti opened the lead back to two at 9-7. The Badgers tied the set before a kill from the back row by Lee gave PSU a 10-9 advantage. Wisconsin tied the match at 10-all before Washington scored on a kill and a block in consecutive plays. The Badgers knotted the match at 12-12, before scoring three of the next four to take a 15-13 lead into the media timeout.
Lee and Detering manufactured a 4-0 run, with Lee starting and finishing the spurt on kills, while Detering scored on a pair of aces for a 17-15 lead. Wisconsin called its first timeout to try and end the run, but were unsuccessful, as Lee thundered down another kill. A kill from Thelen the next play forced Wisconsin’s second timeout with a 19-15 lead. Lee hammered down two kills over the next three plays, before Thelen and Frantti logged kills to make it 23-16. A block from Thelen and Gorrell made it set point before Frantti slammed down her eighth kill of the night for a 25-18 set three victory.
The Nittany Lions opened the fourth on a 3-0 skid before an error and a kill from Lee at the end of a long rally pulled the Nittany Lions within one. The two sides vied for position, before a 4-0 run from the Badgers led Penn State to call for time, trailing 10-5. An error from the Badgers and a block from Washington cut the Badgers’ lead to three at 10-7. The sides swapped points, with a kill from Lee making the score 12-9 in the Badgers’ favor. Wisconsin went on to open up a 4-1 run, forcing the PSU bench to call for time, down 16-10.
Lee knocked down a kill and UW committed a handling error to cut the Wisconsin lead to four at 16-12. Wisconsin grew the lead to 19-12, before a block by Thelen and Gorrell and an errant attack forced the Badgers to call for time with a 19-14 lead. Penn State cut the lead to three before Wisconsin rattled off two points of its own to take a 21-16 lead. The Badgers went on to commit a handling error before Frantti’s 11th kill forced UW to call for time at 21-18. Penn State fended off set point before a kill from the Badgers sealed it, 25-21.
NOTES:
Team
– No. 10 Penn State fell to No. 4 Wisconsin, 3-1 (16-25, 18-25, 25-18, 21-25) Friday evening in Madison, Wisconsin.
– Following the loss, Penn State moves 17-5 in 2016, with a 9-2 record in league play.
– A pair of Nittany Lions in junior outside hitters Simone Lee and Ali Frantti recorded double-figure kills. Lee led the team for the 20th time during the season with 19. Frantti added 11.
– With her performance, Lee surpassed the 600 career kill mark.
– Penn State out-blocked the Badgers, 12.0-8.0, with five Nittany Lions registering multi-block outings. Junior middle blocker Haleigh Washington led the way with six. Right side Heidi Thelen added four blocks, while setter Abby Detering had three. Lee and redshirt freshman Tori Gorrell had a pair of blocks each.
– The 12 team blocks marked the third-most in a single match during 2016.
– Following Friday, PSU is 5-4 against ranked teams and 3-3 in televised matches during the 2016 campaign.
Series
– Penn State holds a 46-8 lead against the Badgers all-time following the loss. PSU is now 18-7 when facing Wisconsin in Madison.
Players
Simone Lee, junior outside hitter: Lee recorded a team-best 19 kills, adding six digs, a pair of blocks and an ace. It marks the 20th time in 2016 she has led the team in kills. With her fifth kill of the match, she surpassed the 600 career kill marker.
Ali Frantti, junior outside hitter: Frantti posted 11 kills, eight digs, a block and an ace in the four-setter. It was the eighth time that the junior has reached double-figure kills during the 2016 campaign.
Haleigh Washington, junior middle blocker: Washington posted a team-best six blocks in the outing while adding six kills and three digs. It was the 13th time she led the team’s defensive efforts at the net during the season.
Abby Detering, junior setter: Detering dished out 36 assists and added eight digs. She also posted three aces, leading the team in the category for the eighth time.
Heidi Thelen, junior middle blocker: Thelen registered five kills and four blocks in the loss.
Kendall White, freshman defense specialist: White notched 16 digs in the match, leading Penn State for the 19th time.
What’s Next: Penn State will face No. 3 Minnesota Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at home.
Penn State Stats
Simone Lee (19 kills, 6 digs, 2 blocks)
Ali Frantti (11 kills, 1 ace, 8 digs, 1 block)
Kendall White (16 digs)
Track Penn State on Facebook, Instagram @pennstatevball and Twitter @PennStateVBALL
Leave a Reply