MATCH STATS
- #4 Wisconsin def. #24 Michigan 3-0 (25-11, 30-28, 25-13)
- Wisconsin improves to 10-1 (1-1 Big Ten); Michigan falls to 10-4 (0-2 Big Ten)
- UW Field House, Madison, WI
- Attendance: 6,012
- Box Score
After losing to Michigan State last night, #4 Wisconsin came back with a vengeance against the University of Michigan. Wisconsin won in a decisive three sets leading the Wolverines in every statistical category. The Badgers started strong taking the first set easily. Michigan came back in the second and pushed Wisconsin into over time. Despite Michigan having 4 set points, Wisconsin battled back winning back the momentum of the match. In the third set, Michigan couldn’t bounce back after the emotional loss of the second set and fell to Wisconsin’s onslaught. Also of note, Michigan transfer Tiffany Clark started against her previous squad as libero for Wisconsin all three sets.
The front row for the Badgers proved insurmountable for Michigan with Dana Rettke leading Wisconsin in points, tallying 17.5 with 8 kills (.267), 9 blocks and 5 aces. Freshman Sydney Hilley set the Badgers to .359 hitting efficiency compared to Michigan’s paltry .079. Tionna Williams, Kelli Bates and Lauryn Gillis contributed 8, 12 and 11 kills respectively off of Hilley’s sets. In addition to their strong offense, the front row for the Badgers totaled 13 blocks to stifle the Michigan offense.
For Michigan, the bright spots were middle blockers Claire Kieffer-Wright and Cori Crocker who recorded 10 and 10.5 points each. Crocker was able to get her 8 kills at a very high efficiency, hitting .538 to keep her team afloat. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, the rest of the squad hit close to zero or negatively for the match.
Wisconsin goes on the road next week, facing off against Iowa and Nebraska. Michigan will look to bounce back next week, hosting Maryland and Ohio State at home.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics
MADISON, Wis. – Seniors Kelli Bates and Lauryn Gillisteamed up to lead the fifth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team to its first Big Ten Conference win of the season. The Badgers swept No. 20 Michigan, 25-11, 30-28, 25-13, at the UW Field House Sunday afternoon.
Wisconsin (10-1 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) was unstoppable in the first set, hitting .500 (12 kills – 2 errors – 20 attempts). UW hit .359 (44-11-92) for the match and held the Wolverines (10-4, 0-2) to .079 (32-24-101), their lowest percentage of the season.
Bates led all players with 12 kills while adding seven digs and three blocks. Gillis also scored double-digit kills, earning 12 putaways. The 6-1 outside hitter added three digs, including two late in the second set, and two blocks.
Freshman Dana Rettke was a force to be reckoned with behind the service line. The middle blocker collected a career-high five aces. The Badgers scored six aces and held Michigan to two.
Rettke also earned a match-high and career-high nine blocks as UW out-blocked the Wolverines 13-6. Redshirt sophomore Madison Duello tied her career high with eight stuffs.
The Badgers earned a 36-30 advantage in digs. Sophomore M.E. Dodge had a team-high nine digs with Bates and Sarah Dodd each adding seven.
Notables
- Freshman Dana Rettke set a career high with five service aces, including four in the third set. Her total ties for second on the UW three-set match record list under 25-point rally scoring. The 6-8 middle blocker also record a career-high nine blocks.
- Redshirt sophomore Madison Duello tied her career best with eight blocks.
- Senior Kelli Bates tied her career best, hitting .500 (12-1-22).
- The Badgers have now won eight straight matches over the Wolverines.
- Wisconsin picked up its eighth sweep of the season.
- Michigan hit a season-low .079 (32-24-101).
- Sophomore Sara Dodd had seven digs in the match to go over 100 saves for her career.
Quotable
“I thought we rebounded from Friday really, really well. We came back in to practice yesterday and watched film, and I thought we had the energy that you like to see from your team coming back whether it’s a win or a loss, just ready.
“Today I thought we had laser-like focus all the way through, from the get-go, even throughout game two. Coming out of the locker room, up 2-0, and again, laser-like focus in the third set. I thought we showed an awful lot of maturity coming back from Friday night, and I thought that lasted all the way throughout the match.”
– Head coach Kelly Sheffield
“The Big Ten is just different. You always have to be ready to battle. We beat Michigan today in the first set, then came back big in the second set. You can’t really take a point off in the Big Ten and that just shows that. In the third set we just locked back in and handled them there.
– Senior Lauryn Gillis
It was over when
With the second set coming to a close, the Badgers and Wolverines were knotted up at 22 apiece. Two straight points from U-M gave the visitors match point at 24-22. Lauryn Gillis sprang to life with back-to-back kills, evening the match at 24 all.
Wisconsin and Michigan traded match points before tying the frame again at 28-28. A UM attack error and a kill from Kelli Bates sealed the deal, lifting Wisconsin to a 30-28 victory in the period.
The Badgers held off four set points by Michigan while UW converted its third set point.
Up next
The Badgers travel to Iowa City, Iowa, on Friday for a 7 p.m. match with the Hawkeyes from Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Wisconsin continues its road trip, taking on No. 14 Nebraska on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Devaney Center in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Courtesy of Michigan Athletics
MADISON, Wis. — Despite a .538 attack average and eight kills by sophomore Cori Crocker, the No. 20-ranked University of Michigan volleyball team lost in straight sets (25-11, 30-28, 25-13) to the No. 5-ranked Wisconsin Badgers on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 24) at UW Fieldhouse.
Though Michigan forced an early 2-1 lead in the first set on a kill from Crocker and an overturned challenge that resulted in a Wolverine point, the Badgers quickly tied the score and used a five-point run to force a Michigan timeout. From there, the Badgers extended a lead thanks to a .500 hitting percentage and just two hitting errors. Holding the Wolverines to negative attacking average in the set, Wisconsin used an 8-1 run to clinch the first set, 25-11.
Neither team could force a rally in the second set, and it was Michigan that owned a 15-14 edge at the media timeout thanks to a slide kill by senior Claire Kieffer-Wright. Following the stoppage in play, Wisconsin used a 4-1 scoring run to force a lead as well as a Michigan timeout. The teams traded points from there until a kill by sophomore setter MacKenzi Welsh and a Badger error gave the Wolverines a 24-22 lead late, but Wisconsin went on another run to tie the game and used a three-point run to finish it off, 30-28.
Michigan took an early lead out of the intermission, but Wisconsin tied things up at 5-5 and used a four-point rally to grab the lead. The Badgers dominated the third set of the day, holding the Wolverines to a .028 attack average en route to a 25-13 third-set win.
Defensively, junior Carly Skjodt led the Wolverines with 10 digs. She was the only player to finish in double figures. Crocker’s eight kills marked the second time she has led the Wolverines in kills in her career.
The No. 20-ranked Wolverines will get back in action on Friday (Sept. 29) when they host Ohio State in their Big Ten Conference home opener. First serve is set for 8 p.m. inside Crisler Center
Leave a Reply