Match Stats
- No. 3 Wisconsin def. Iowa 3-1, (25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 25-7)
- Wisconsin moves to 25-3, 17-2 B1G, Iowa falls to 19-12, 9-10 B1G
- Hosted by Wisconsin
Wisconsin closed out their home playing slate with a dominating victory over Iowa.
In the first set, the Badgers came out strong with a 25-15 set win, but dropped the second with a strong Iowa showing 22-25.
The third and fourth sets were all Wisconsin, as they came out with two dominating sets of 25-16 and 25-7 to end the match.
Tionna Williams led the Badgers with 14 kills and seven blocks, Molly Haggerty with 13 kills and 12 digs for a double-double and Haleigh Nelson added 12 kills and six blocks also posting a .647 hitting percentage.
Setter Lauren Carlini dished out 57 assists in the final home match of her career, while Kelli Bates picked up 12 digs.
For Iowa, Jess Janota put down 12 kills and a .550 hitting percentage. Reghan Coyle added eight kills in the match and Annika Olsen picked up 15 digs.
Press Release
Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics
MADISON, Wis.– The No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team closed out regular season home play on a high note, securing a 25-15, 22-25, 25-16, 25-7 victory over Iowa on Wednesday night.
Much of the sold-out UW Field House crowd of 6,012 stayed after the win to honor Wisconsin’s senior class of Lauren Carlini, Tori Blake, Romana Kriskova and Haleigh Nelson.
The win marks the 110th win for the senior class, ranking third in UW program history.
“I thought it was a really good match, so many positives out of this,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “I thought we came out and played really well. Iowa came out in the second (set) and upped their service game a little bit and we got kind of knocked back on our heels. I thought we responded great.
“That’s probably the most important quality. I told the team afterwards, that’s probably the most important quality going into the tournament is how do you respond because you’re not going to keep a good team down for an hour and a half or two hours. I thought we responded in a great way.
“I’m happy for these four (Blake, Carlini, Kriskova, Nelson). On senior night you certainly want your players to go out with a win and I thought all four of them played really well. It was a fun night.”
Wisconsin (25-3, 17-2 Big Ten) dominated on both sides of the ball, hitting a .398 attack percentage (62 kills – 13 errors – 123 attempts) and outblocking Iowa 15-2. The Hawkeyes (19-12, 9-10 Big Ten) hit just .112 percent (41-26-134).
Sophomore Tionna Williams led the offense with 14 kills and a .737 hitting percentage with no errors on 19 attempts, as well as stuffing a match-high seven blocks. Freshman Molly Haggerty (13), Nelson (12) and junior Lauryn Gillis (10) joined Williams in double-figure kills.
Nelson added six blocks, while Kriskova and Haggerty contributed five and three blocks, respectively. Haggerty and junior Kelli Bates tied for the team high with 12 digs apiece, while freshman M.E. Dodge added eight digs and Gillis saved seven.
Carlini dished out 57 assists, one fewer than her season-high, adding seven digs and two blocks.
Wisconsin raced to a 13-7 lead in the first set, forcing a Hawkeye timeout, but the break couldn’t slow the 6-2 Badger run that followed. Iowa gained some ground on Wisconsin and closed the gap to 22-15, but the Badgers claimed the 1-0 set lead, 25-15.
Iowa put up a fight in set two, tying the match at one all with a 25-21 set win. The Hawkeyes capitalized on five UW errors, forcing a Badger timeout with a 9-6 advantage. Iowa outscored Wisconsin 10-7 over the next stretch, pulling away to a 19-13 lead. The Badgers came within striking distance on a Williams’ kill (22-21) but the Hawkeyes held on for the equalizer.
“We just got a little bit tight in that second set,” Nelson explained. “We stopped playing loose and together. We didn’t go for a few balls here and there and I think we were just forcing some things a little bit too much. They’re a good team so if we are not all the way locked in and clicking then they are going to come back.
The Badgers began the third set with a narrow 10-9 lead, but broke out on a 5-1 run to force an Iowa timeout at 15-10. Iowa fired back to come within two (17-15) but Wisconsin responded with seven unanswered points during an 8-1 run, finishing the set off, 25-16.
Wisconsin made quick work of set four, surging to a 14-1 advantage on 12 consecutive points with freshman Amber MacDonald serving 12 straight, including two service aces. Iowa made a small dent in the lead, trailing 18-6, but three kills from Blake and a pair of Badger blocks helped close out the Senior Night victory, 25-7.
“I think Wisconsin volleyball is usually very strong at the end of the year,” Carlini said. “We always finish off the Big Ten season on a high note, so I think we are doing that right now. I think we’re getting our connections down and getting some things figured out, tweaking things here and there. Overall I think we’re in a great place. Let’s just keep rolling with it.”
The Badgers close out the regular season with a road trip to Minneapolis, facing the No. 2 Gophers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Press Release
Courtesy of Iowa Athletics
MADISON, Wisc. – Jess Janota led the team with 12 kills as the University of Iowa volleyball team fell 3-1 to third-ranked Wisconsin on Wednesday night in the UW Field House. This is the first set Iowa has won against Wisconsin since Oct. 2, 2013 when the Hawkeyes had a 25-17 set-one victory in Iowa City.
“Great effort by our gals tonight,” said head coach Bond Shymansky. “When you come into a top-ranked team’s gym on Senior Night, there’s a lot of energy and emotion out there, but I thought we responded really well after the first set and played some great volleyball. I’m proud of our group and how far we’ve come. Everything is about the process and the progress for us, and you can see it in our group. You can see it in the way we are willing to execute.”
In addition to Janota’s 12 kills, the junior amassed a .550 hitting percentage for Iowa (19-12, 9-10 Big Ten). Reghan Coyle registered eight kills, while Ashley Mariani and Lauren Brobst each had seven kills. Annika Olsen garnered 15 digs and Alexa Ito tallied a personal-best 11 digs.
Wisconsin is now 25-3 on the season and 17-2 in league play.
After dropping set one 25-15, the Hawkeyes came out firing on all cylinders in set two. The teams traded back-and-forth points to knot the score at 4-4 before the Hawkeyes used a 16-9 run to take a 19-13 lead. Janota (3), Mariani (3), Keala (1), Brobst (1) and Coyle (1) racked up kills during the stretch, while Molly Kelly and Meghan Buzzerio each chipped in an ace.
The Badgers went on a 7-2 run to cut Iowa’s lead to 21-20, but the Hawkeyes used a 4-2 stretch to clinch a 25-22 set victory, knotting the match at 1-1. This final stance was bolstered by kills from Mariani (2), Brobst (1) and Buzzerio (1).
Buzzerio and Mariani each had a kill to open set three as they helped Iowa to a 4-3 start, but the home team scored three consecutive points to take a 6-4 lead. After back-and-forth points that left the Badgers with a 10-9 advantage, Wisconsin used a 5-1 run to increase the score to 15-10. The Hawkeyes then responded with a 5-2 stretch of their own to cut the advantage to 19-17. Janota and Coyle each registered a kill during this burst before the Badgers secured a 25-16 set win. Janota racked up five kills, while Buzzerio had four during the third set. Wisconsin then won set four 25-7 for a 3-1 match victory.
“We have had such a great building year,” said Shymansky. “We keep getting better and better as we go. Tonight was evidence of that. Again, I like the improvement that we are showing, we just have to show it for a longer sustained period. We take on Michigan State on Saturday night at home. That match is another huge opportunity because we are still of the belief that if we get that victory, we are going to the NCAA Tournament.”
The Hawkeyes return home for Senior Night on Saturday against the 14th-ranked Michigan Spartans. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. CT first serve.
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