Match Stats
Wisconsin’s victory over Ohio State is their fourth-straight win, putting them one game out of first place in the Big Ten Conference. The win also marks the 10th win over a ranked opponent for the Badgers.
Badger senior setter Lauren Carlini dished out 37 assists and picked up 11 digs, for her 69th career double-double. Lauryn Gillis put down 14 kills, while Romana Kriskova added 12 on a .545 hitting percentage.
The Badgers were led by Audra Appold with nine kills, while Valeria Leon picked up 10 digs. The big story for Ohio State is Taylor Sandbothe, whose lone block put her on top as the Badgers all time block leader, with 518 career blocks. The Frist Team All-American broke the school’s record that has been in place for a quarter century set by Dawn McDougall – 517 blocks, 1988-1991.
Press Release
Courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio– The third-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team continued to roll through conference play Wednesday night, sweeping No. 22 Ohio State, 25-19, 26-24, 25-22, at St. John Arena.
Wisconsin’s fourth-straight win puts the Badgers one game out of first place in the Big Ten Conference, improving to 19-3 overall and 11-2 in the Big Ten. The win also marked the Cardinal and White’s 10th win of the season against a ranked team.
“I thought we were pretty good offensively,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “I thought Lauren (Carlini) did a really good job of setting, she had some ridiculous, really nice sets. Taking blockers up with her, getting attackers really clean looks.”
Carlini dished out 37 assists, helping the Badgers to a .307 hitting percentage (42-11-101). Junior Lauryn Gillis led the Badgers with 14 kills, while redshirt senior Romana Kriskova had her third match of the season in double-figure kills, slamming 12 kills with no errors on 22 attempts for a match-high .545 attack percentage.
“Romana was again great,” Sheffield said. “She’s been really really good the past few weeks no matter who she’s playing against, at home and on the road.”
The Badger defense narrowly outblocked the Buckeyes 7-6, led by sophomore Tionna Williams with four stops. Carlini and senior Haleigh Nelson added three blocks apiece. Carlini notched 11 digs for her 69th career double-double, followed by freshman M.E. Dodge with 10 saves and junior Kelli Bates with six.
Both teams struggled at the service line, as UW committed 12 service errors while the Buckeyes (15-10, 5-8 Big Ten) had 10.
“That’s a lot of service errors, 12 service errors on us, but we had them out of system all the time. You don’t like a lot of service errors, you certainly don’t like them in the net. But you can’t sit there and praise your team when their setter is running all over the place and then rip them when they’re having some service errors as well. I thought that was a big key of the match.
“I thought defensively we probably got a little bit better at the end, I thought the back court we probably could have been a little bit better than what we were.”
In set one the Buckeyes took an 11-6 lead on four unanswered points, but the Badgers battled back to take a 21-17 lead, forcing an OSU timeout. After fighting through the set, Wisconsin closed its last four points out with ease on kills from Kriskova, Williams and Bates for the 25-19 set win.
In similar fashion, the Buckeyes forced 13 tie points and four lead changes in the second set, but the Badgers pulled away late to take the 2-0 set lead in extra points, 26-24. Ohio State tied the set 23-23, prompting Wisconsin to use a timeout to regroup. A double touch by the Buckeyes gave the Badgers a 24-23 advantage, but OSU’s Audra Appold tied the score back up at 24 each. Nelson hit a kill on the slide to put the Badgers back on top, following up with a block alongside Kriskova to secure the set victory.
Ohio State started the third set with an advantage, but the Badgers never fell more than two points behind. Wisconsin won a challenge to tie the frame, 11-11, which would prove to be the turning point in the set. The Badgers won 10 of the next 19 points to narrowly lead 21-20, then pulled away to finish off the sweep, 25-22, on a Nelson and Kriskova block.
“This is a tough place to play,” Sheffield said. “These guys average about two losses a year at home in the Big Ten. They’re awfully good here, and we hit .300, I thought that was good.”
The Badgers continue conference play on Saturday, hosting Purdue at the UW Field House. The sold out match begins at 7 p.m.
Press Release
Courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Taylor Sandbothe has been crowned as the Ohio State Blocks Queen after registering the 518th block of her career Wednesday night versus No. 3 Wisconsin live on the Big Ten Network’s national broadcast. The 2015 First Team All-American now owns the most career rejections in school history, breaking a record which had stood for a quarter of a century (Dawn McDougall – 517 blocks; 1988-91). The Badgers (19-3, 11-2 Big Ten) ultimately came out on top in the three-set bout (25-19, 26-24, 25-22).
The 22nd-ranked Buckeyes (15-10, 5-8 Big Ten) exchanged haymakers with Wisconsin from start to finish, resulting in a total of 26 tied scores and 11 lead changes (no less than three in each set). Just 11 points separated the two B1G squads.
SET 1: Ashley Wenz jumpstarted her eight-kill evening by terminating all three attempts in the opening frame, the first two of which helped push OSU ahead 10-6 and force an early Badger timeout. Three different Buckeyes in Luisa Schirmer, Taylor Hughes and Ana Beatriz Franklin each sniped a service ace within the first 16 rallies. Wisconsin began to chip away at the deficit, however, and eventually came out on top 17-16 during a five-point run. The Badgers remained in the lead for the remainder of a 25-19 triumph.
SET 2: Neither side could gain an upper hand of more than three points in the entire second stanza. In fact, the only edge greater than a pair of tallies was a 9-6 advantage for Ohio State. The ledger sat even as late as 24-24, spilling over into extra time. Wisconsin’s Haleigh Nelson then stepped up with a kill and block paired with Romana Kriskova to close out the period, 26-24. Sandbothe held the OSU blocking record momentarily at 21-21 when her second of what would have been back-to-back blocks was reversed on a coach’s challenge by the Badger bench.
SET 3: History was then made in the subsequent set. Sandbothe teamed up with Hughes to stuff Kelli Bates for her 518th career block. The record-breaking rejection closed Ohio State’s gap to 18-16 and triggered a UW timeout. The Buckeyes trimmed the deficit further to a lone tally at both 20-19 and 21-20 before coming up a bit short, 25-22.
The Scarlet & Gray are back at it Saturday (Nov. 5) night in Bloomington, Ind., taking on the Hoosiers of Indiana University.
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