MATCH STATS
- #4 Wisconsin sweeps Iowa in road game (25-15, 25-20, 25-23)
- Wisconsin (16-3, 8-2), Iowa (15-7, 5-5)
No. 4 Wisconsin crushed Big Ten competitor Iowa in 3 (25-15, 25-20, 25-23) to stay in the running for the Big Ten Conference championship.
Currently, Wisconsin is just one game behind the Penn State Nittany Lion’s, Big Ten’s leading team. Penn State just lost their first Big Ten match to Michigan Saturday night, meaning the Badgers just have the one loss to overcome to be leading the conference.
The Hawkeyes fell easily in the first two sets, as Wisconsin dominated with their offense. It wasn’t until the third set that Iowa really fought. The Badgers faced 16 ties and six lead changes in the third set to finally claim the narrow 25-23 victory.
Wisconsin out-blocked Iowa 3-0, and the Badgers hit 6 aces in the first set alone.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics
IOWA CITY, Iowa— It was a win that the No. 4 Wisconsin volleyball team needed if it wanted to keep its hopes of a Big Ten Conference championship alive. The Badgers held off a late rally by Iowa Saturday night to sweep the Hawkeyes 25-15, 25-20, 25-23.
The win improves the Badgers’ Big Ten record to 8-2 and keep them in the hunt for the championship. Wisconsin is a only a game behind league-leading Penn State, following the Nittany Lions losing their first conference match of the season at No. 16 Michigan, 3-2, tonight.
“I thought we came out of the gates really aggressive,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “I thought Lauren Carlini did a great job of where she was setting and seeing what they were trying to do defensively with their block and made some really nice reads. Our defense probably got a little bit better as the match went on as well, and our passes steadied out there towards the end of the match.”
After winning the first two sets, the Badgers (16-3) had to battle through 16 ties and six lead changes in the third set to secure the sweep.
Neither team led by more than three points in the third set as Iowa (15-7, 5-5 Big Ten) recorded its only block of the night in the final set as well as recording two of the team’s four aces.
The Hawkeyes had their largest lead of the session early on, taking a 6-3 lead before a trio of kills from redshirt senior Romana Kriskova tied the score at six. Neither team was able to string together more than three points in a row in the clash as the two teams battled through a 22-22 tie. Two straight Iowa hitting errors gave the Badgers match point at 24-22 but the Hawkeyes scored a kill to hold off the first possible winner. But on the next serve, a kill from sophomore Tionna Williamsclinched the win.
“Like I told them, that’s probably the best that any of my teams have played here in this building against this team,” Sheffield said.” I thought we played pretty solid tonight.”
Wisconsin recorded a .339 attack percentage (44 kills – 6 errors – 112 attempts), hitting over .300 for the eighth time this season. Freshman Molly Haggerty led the Badger offense with 13 kills and only two errors for a .379 hitting percentage. Junior Lauryn Gillis and redshirt senior Romana Kriskovaeach added nine kills and two blocks, while Williams chipped in five kills.
The Hawkeyes hit .217 (42-17-115) behind 13 kills from Jess Janota and 10 kills from Lauren Brobst. Iowa out dug the Badgers 57-48.
Senior Haleigh Nelson served up a career-high four aces while adding five digs and a match-high five blocks, while junior Kelli Bates added three aces and nine digs. Carlini put up a match-high 39 assists, adding six digs, two kills, and one ace.
Sophomore Amber MacDonald led the squad with 10 digs, while Haggerty and fellow freshman M.E. Dodge each contributed five saves.
In the first set, three consecutive service aces from Nelson helped Wisconsin race to an 8-3 lead. The Badgers won four-straight points, forcing Iowa’s first timeout, then went on a 7-1 tear that caused Hawkeye’s head coach Bond Shymansky to take his team off the court during Iowa’s second timeout with UW up 23-10. The Hawkeyes responded with a 4-0 run, but UW held on to the lead to take set one, 25-15.
The Badgers committed no attack errors in the set while hitting .314 percent (11-0-35). UW out blocked the Hawkeyes 3-0 and dished out six aces in the first frame.
UW’s offense dominated the second set, putting away eight kills and adding a service ace to take a 9-7 lead. Iowa stayed within three points of UW for most of the set until a late 6-2 run helped the Badgers pull away and take a 2-0 set lead in the match.
“This team was really bummed after (losing at Nebraska) last night,” Sheffield said. “But you still find yourself a match out of first in the Big Ten, with the opportunity of playing who’s leading it (Penn State) a week from now.
“I mean, how awesome is this season? I’m sure everybody was making the headstones for (Penn State) when they lost three in a row early, and then they’re the last undefeated team in the league.
“There’s so many really good teams and there’s a lot of really good coaches, and the players are really, really competitive. It’s really hard, but the players have to embrace it. The strength is what is awesome about (the Big Ten).”
The Badgers return to Madison on Friday, welcoming No. 9 Penn State to the UW Field House for an 8 p.m. match live on the Big Ten Network. UW hosts Rutgers on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both matches are already sold out.
What’s Next: The Badgers will host No. 9 Penn State Friday night at 8 p.m. in a match that could shift the power in the Big Ten.
Badger Stats
Molly Haggerty (13 kills, 2 blocks, 5 digs)
Romana Kriskova (9 kills, 2 blocks, 4 digs)
Lauryn Gillis (9 kills, 2 blocks, 1 dig)
Follow Wisconsin on Facebook, Twitter @BadgerVB and Instagram @wisconsinvolleyball
Courtesy of Iowa Athletics
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Senior Lauren Brobstgarnered her 1,000 career kill as the University of Iowa volleyball team fell to No. 4 Wisconsin in three sets on Friday night in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes are now 15-7 on the season and 5-5 in league play.
“The growth inside our program is so noticeable to so many people, and we are adding other pieces to what we typically do well,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “We typically run offense well. Tonight it was a little shaky at times, but we added floor defense tonight. That was the best floor defense that I’ve seen us play all season. All these different elements that are coming together around our program and inside of our team, this is how we are going to build a championship program in the Big Ten.”
Overall, Brobst had 10 kills on the night, which included five in set two. Jess Janotaracked up a team-high 13 kills, while Annika Olsen paced the team with 22 digs. Loxley Keala collected 38 assists and nine digs.
With the score knotted at 3-3 in set one, Wisconsin (16-3, 8-2 Big Ten) used a 5-0 run to take the lead before kills by Reghan Coyle and Ashley Mariani and an ace by Alexa Itocut into the Badgers lead to leave the score at 8-6, Wisconsin. The visiting team extended its lead to 23-11 before Iowa called a timeout. The timeout proved effective as the home team went on a 5-1 run bolstered by four kills from Janota and a kill from Coyle. The rally, however, fell just short as the Badgers secured 25-15 win in the first set.
After Wisconsin took an early 7-3 advantage in set two, the home team used a 4-1 run to cut into the lead. The teams traded points before the Badgers took an 18-15 lead. Brobst then stepped up and amassed three kills in Iowa’s 3-1 run. During the stretch, the senior collected her 1,000th career kill. Wisconsin used a 4-1 run to take a 23-19 advantage before they captured a 25-20 set win.
Wisconsin scored the first point in set three before Janota recorded three consecutive points to give the Hawkeyes a 3-1 lead. The two teams went back-and-forth in a set that featured six lead changes and 16 ties before the fourth-ranked Badgers secured a 25-23 set three victory to clinch the match.
Iowa continues their four-match home stint on Friday as they host Northwestern at 7 p.m. in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The contest is a goldout and the first 1,000 fans will receive a free t-shirt.
Up Next: The Hawkeyes will host Northwestern Friday night at 7 p.m.
Iowa Stats
Jess Janota (13 kills, 1 ace)
Lauren Brobst (10 kills, 3 digs)
Ashley Mariani (9 kills, 1 block, 2 digs)
Keep up with Iowa on Facebook, Twitter @IowaVolleyball and Instagram @iowavolleyball
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