Oct. 30, 2011
Northwestern 3, Wisconsin 2
Welsh-Ryan Arena • Evanston, Ill. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Wisconsin
| 12 | 27 | 25 | 16 | 8 | Northwestern
| 25 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 15 | | | | Stats Leaders
| | WIS | | NU | | Chapman - 14 | Kills | Holthus - 19 | | Gabrielsen - 26 | Assists | Shalter - 49 | | Mitchell - .300 | Hit %
| Chrystal - .368 | | Hickey - 19 | Digs | Holthus - 16 | | Mitchell - 5 | Blocks | Dutchman - 10 | | Gabrielsen - 3 | Aces | Shalter - 4 | | Stats Comparison
| WIS | NU | | Kills | 48 | 62 | | Hitting Pct. | .092 | .247 | | Assists | 47 | 58 | | Service Aces | 5 | 8 | | Digs | 65 | 73 | | Total Blocks | 7.0 | 15.0 | | |
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• Box Score | Box Score 
MADISON, Wis. -- While preparing for the fifth set, the Wisconsin volleyball team found itself in a familiar situation against Northwestern on Saturday night in Evanston, Ill. The teams took the last match they played on the Wildcats' home court to five sets back on Nov. 6, 2010, when the Badgers upset then-No. 24 NU.
It was a different story this year, however, as the Badgers lost to Northwestern 12-25, 27-25, 25-22, 16-25, 8-15. Wisconsin falls to 13-11 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten after its first losing weekend of the conference season.
| Fast Facts | | • Chapman ties career high with team-best 14 kills | | • Workman records career-high 12 digs | | • Badgers kept to season-low .092 hitting percentage | |
Head coach Pete Waite says that the team didn't take the Wildcats for granted despite sweeping them earlier in the season.
"They've improved a lot since the early season, and they're just much more defensive," he said. "They're much more solid with their blocks and they just kept a lot of balls in play."
Although junior Alexis Mitchell led the Badgers with five total blocks, including the only two solo stuffs of the night for either team, Northwestern outblocked Wisconsin 15.0-7.0. The Wildcats were led by reigning Big Ten Co-Defensive Player and Co-Freshman of the Week Katie Dutchman, who had 10 total blocks.
The Badgers fared a little better in total digs, as four players finished with double-figure saves. Sophomore Annemarie Hickey led all players with 19 digs, while freshman Caroline Workman had a career-high 12 saves. Senior Janelle Gabrielsen and freshman Courtney Thomas also finished with double-digit digs as both setters recorded double-doubles in the match.
Freshman Ellen Chapman tied her career high with a team-best 14 kills, while junior Bailey Reshel scored on 10 kills off of the bench. Junior Alexis Mitchell had nine kills and hit a team-high .300 (9 kills - 3 errors - 20 attempts). As a team the Badgers were kept to a .092 hitting percentage (48-32-173) while Northwestern hit .247 (62-21-166).
Wisconsin tied the score at 3-3 early in the first set before Northwestern went on a 6-1 run, including three straight kills from freshman Yewande Akanbi, to go up 9-4 and force a Wisconsin timeout. The Wildcats dominated on both sides of the ball, keeping the Badgers to a negative hitting percentage for the first time in the Big Ten season.
The Badgers bounced back in the second set, scoring on a set-high 14 kills while only committing one attack error. A kill from sophomore Dominique Thompson set up a 4-0 run to give Wisconsin the lead at 9-6 before Northwestern rallied to take the lead back at 16-15. The teams tied the score 12 times in the set, including NU tying it at 24-24 and 25-25 to force extra Wisconsin set points. A kill from Reshel and an NU attack error gave the Badgers the set win heading into the intermission.
Both teams came out strong in the third set. After getting past six tie scores in the first nine points, the Badgers put together a 5-1 run to go up 14-11 and take the lead for the rest of the set. Northwestern fought back after being down 18-14, putting together a 4-0 run with three consecutive service aces from Madalyn Shalter to tie the score at 18-18 and force a Wisconsin timeout. The Badgers won the set on a kill from Chapman after NU forced another extra set point with a block.
The fourth set played out much like the first set, as NU capitalized on UW attack errors to go up 4-0 early on. Wisconsin strung three straight points together to cut Northwestern's lead to 18-11 but that's how close they would get to obtaining the lead in the set.
The Badgers tied the score at 2-2 early in the fifth set before the Wildcats used an 8-1 run to take the lead for what would be the rest of the match at 9-3. Northwestern kept UW to a set-low -.150 hitting percentage (4-7-20) in the final frame.
"There were times (in the match) where we were playing really well and took control of the game," Waite said. "But then there were spurts where we couldn't hang with them.
"There were great rallies at the end, but each one it seemed like we were coming up on the short end (of those rallies)."
Up next for the Badgers is a four-match home stand, beginning with a faceoff against No. 23 Ohio State on Friday at 7 p.m. in the UW Field House.
