MATCH STATS
- No. 7 Wisconsin def. No. 11 North Carolina 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-19)
- Wisconsin moves to 2-0; North Carolina drops to 0-2
- Madison, Wisconsin
- Attendance: 6012
- Box Score
MADISON, Wis. – The home-standing Badgers nearly doubled up on North Carolina offensively in a sweep to close out the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Wisconsin pounded down 51 kills, while allowing just 27 and also outdid the Tar Heels in efficiency .361 to .146. The Badgers also won the block (7-4) and the battle in the backcourt (45-25). North Carolina bested UW from the service line 4-3.
Freshman middle blocker Dana Rettke continued to build her resume for Big Ten Player of the Week with a 15-kill effort, while hitting at a scathing .778 clip and putting up a team-best five blocks. Junior middle Tionna Williams added 10 kills with a .643 hitting percentage. Senior outside Kelli Bates chipped in nine kills and seven digs. Sophomore libero ME Dodge led the backcourt with 12 digs, while freshman setter Sydney Hilley tallied a double double, adding 11 digs to her 43 assists.
Sophomore outside Julia Scoles paced North Carolina with nine kills. Redshirt junior outside Taylor Leath followed with six putaways and two blocks. Sophomore outside Taylor Borup put up a team-leading three stuffs. Sophomore libero Mia Fradenburg was tops on the team in digs with 11.
The teams played to an 8-all tie in Set 1, before the Badgers pulled away with a 9-5 run. After trailing 17-13, North Carolina cut the margin to two four times, last at 22-20, but freshman outside Mariah Whalen came through with a kill and a block and redshirt sophomore outside Madison Duello followed with a putaway to close out the set. for Wisconsin.
Five Tar Heel errors and three kills and a block by Rettke gave Wisconsin a 13-4 lead in Set 2. UNC would get no closer than five the rest of the way. Up 19-14, the Badgers spread the ball around as four different players posted kills in a final 6-3 run. Hilley did the honors with the final putaway.
After a tie at 7-all in Set 3, Wisconsin scored nine of the next 12 points. three kills each by Bates and Rettke lifted the Badgers to the 16-10 edge. North Carolina countered with a 6-2 run to narrow the gap to two at 18-16. Momentum swung again after a UW timeout as the home team came out of the break with a 5-1 run and two kills by Williams and two stuffs by Rettke. A stuff by Rettke and Bates put Wisconsin on the hill at 24-18 and a Tar Heel service error ended the night.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Wisconsin Athletics
The No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team picked up its first win over a ranked opponent this season, sweeping No. 11 North Carolina, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 during the final match of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at the UW Field House Saturday night.
Wisconsin (2-0) hit .361 (51 kills – 16 errors – 97 attempts) while holding North Carolina (0-2) to .146 (27-14-89), earning redemption from a hard-fought five-set loss against the Tar Heels a year ago.
The Badgers also held a major advantage in digs, earning 45 to the Tar Heel’s 25.
Freshman Sydney Hilley earned her first career double-double. The setter accumulated 43 assists and 11 digs while adding four kills, two aces and two blocks. Fellow freshman middle blocker Dana Rettke hit a career-high .778 (15-1-18) and collected a match-high five blocks to pace the Badger offense.
Wisconsin also had great production from their upperclassmen. Junior Tionna Williams hit .643 (10-1-14) while adding two blocks. Senior Kelli Bates had a well-rounded performance with nine kills, seven digs and one block.
It was over when
The Badgers led the entire way through the first and second sets but North Carolina made it a close third set.
The Tar Heels took their first lead at 6-5 in the third period. Wisconsin took its largest lead of the set at 16-10 before UNC began its rally. A service ace and hitting error by UW made it just a two-point game at 18-16 but two kills from Tionna Williams put Wisconsin up 21-17.
Blocking was key late for the Badgers as Dana Rettke combined with Sydney Hilley and Kelli Bates for three blocks over four points. The blocks gave UW a 24-18 lead.
Notables
Sydney Hilley had a career high 43 assists tonight. She had a first career double-double with 11 digs. The 6-0 setter had a career-high two service aces.
Sophomore Sarah Dodd had a career high eight digs.
Redshirt sophomore Madison Duello had a career-high seven kills.
Senior Kelli Bates went over 800 career kills on the weekend. The 5-11 outside hitter has 811 kills in her fourth season.
Freshman Grace Loberg saw her first action in the Cardinal and White. The 6-3 outside hitter had two kills and one digs, playing in one set.
Up Next
Wisconsin takes to the road for the first time this season, traveling to Manhattan, Kansas, on Friday and Saturday for the K-State Invitational. The Badgers take on Syracuse and Arkansas on Friday before facing host Kansas State on Saturday.
Courtesy: Norh Carolina Athletics
No. 11 North Carolina came up emptyhanded on Saturday night, dropping its second straight contest to a top-10 opponent as No. 7 Wisconsin defeated the Tar Heels, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-19), in front of a sold-out crowd (6,012) at UW Field House. The Badgers (3-0) finished the ACC/Big Ten Challenge with back-to-back sweeps, while Carolina dropped to 0-2 to start the year.
The Tar Heels switched up the offense, returning to a 6-2 with freshman Holly Carlton and junior transfer Kendra Koetter, after Carlton directed the offense solo the previous night. Carlton put up 12 assists, seven digs and an ace, while Koetter, in her first appearance for the Heels, tallied 11 assists and an ace. Carlton stayed in all six rotations to play right side in the first two sets, where she notched a pair of kills.
Sophomore Julia Scoles led the Tar Heel offense with nine kills while junior Taylor Leath followed with six, and both also served up an ace. Sophomore libero Mia Fradenburg led with 11 digs, while Taylor Borup was in on three of UNC’s 4.5 blocks and added three kills. Beth Nordhorn was a bright spot in the third set, going 2-for-2 on the attack with a block.
Wisconsin’s middle duo got the best of the Carolina defense, as 6-foot-8 freshman Dana Rettke hit .778 with 15 kills and five blocks, while junior Tionna Williams hit .643 with 10 slams. Freshman setter Sydney Hilley put on a strong all-around performance, posting her first career double-double with 43 assists, 11 digs, four kills and two aces.
The first set was tight throughout, but Wisconsin never allowed Carolina to take the lead, and before long it was 22-20. Carolina wiped off the Badgers’ first attempt at set point, but a kill by Madison Duello gave Wisconsin the first, 25-21.
The Tar Heels fell into a 7-1 hole to open the second set, soon trailing 13-4. Carolina regrouped midway through the set, with the help of three blocks, but the deficit was too large to overcome, as the Badgers took the second, 25-17, and carried a 2-0 lead into the break.
A service ace by Koetter gave UNC its first lead of the night, 6-5, but a 7-1 run midway through the set put Wisconsin back in control, 14-9. A great service run by Scoles pulled Carolina back within two, 18-16, but the Badgers regrouped after a timeout to win seven of the final 10 points and finish off the sweep, 25-19.
The Tar Heels head south next weekend for the ACC/SEC Puerto Rico Clasico, where they will join NC State in facing Auburn and No. 12 Florida. Carolina takes on Auburn on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m., then squares off with the Gators—who took down the No. 1 and No. 5-ranked teams on opening weekend—at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. All four matches of the Puerto Rico Clasico will be streamed live on FloVolleyball.tv.
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