Match Stats
- #2 Wisconsin def. #24 Illinois 3-1 (25-15, 18-25, 26-24, 25-19)
- Wisconsin moves to 14-1 (6-0 Big Ten); Illinois falls to 11-6 (4-2 Big Ten)
- UW Field House Madison, Wisconsin (Wisconsin Athletics)
The Wisconsin Badgers all-but-sealed their destiny for #1 in next week’s AVCA polls with a 3-1 victory over the 24th-ranked Illinois Illini at home on Saturday evening.
The game swung back-and-forth early. In the first set, Wisconsin hit .387, while Illinois hit .000. In the second set, the tables turned and Illinois hit .342 while Wisconsin hit just .154.
In the last two sets, both teams actually hit fairly well (both were north of .300 in set 3), but eventually the Badgers proved to be too much.
They were led by Tionna Williams, who had 18 kills on just a single error in 24 swings for a whopping .708 hitting percentage. That percentage ranks as the 7th -highest percentage of any player this season with a minimum of 20 attempts, and unlike any of the 6 players ahead of hers, she achieved the feat against a top-25 opponent.
Another hallmark stat was 10 aces for the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin had 11 aces against Rutgers, the conference’s last-ranked team, on Wednesday, but they backed that stat up Saturday in a big way.
That line included 3 aces from Amber MacDonald, who made her return after missing a week with concussion-like symptoms after taking a ball to the face in practice.
If Wisconsin winds up as #1, and all signs point to them being there on Monday, it would be their first #1 ranking in program history.
Video Highlights
Courtesy Big Ten Network:
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