Sept. 17, 2011
Box Score | Box Score 
| Match Video
Wisconsin 3, Western Michigan 0
UW Field House • Madison, Wis. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Western Michigan
| 20 | 25 | 15 | 18 | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 20 | 25 | 25 | -- | | | | Stats Leaders
| | WMU | | WIS | | Gossen/Berland-13 | Kills | Chapman - 13 | | Norris - 44 | Assists | Thomas - 31 | | Berland - .545 | Hit %
| Thomas/Thomp-.444 | | Acree - 16 | Digs | Hickey - 19 | | 3 tied - 2 | Blocks | Chap/Mitch - 5 | | Acree/Sweeney - 1 | Aces | Gabrielsen - 3 | | Stats Comparison
| WMU | WIS | | Kills | 54 | 59 | | Hitting Pct. | .162 | .297 | | Assists | 50 | 57 | | Service Aces | 2 | 4 | | Digs | 64 | 67 | | Total Blocks | 4 | 10.5 | | |
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MADISON, Wis. -- Behind a career-high 13 kills and five blocks from freshman Ellen Chapman, the Wisconsin volleyball team beat Western Michigan in four sets during the InnTowner Invitational on Saturday at the UW Field House.
The Badgers won 25-20, 20-25, 25-15, 25-18 over the Broncos to win their sixth straight match.
| Fast Facts | | • Chapman records career high 13 kills | | • Gabrielsen has double-double with 21 asst./14 digs | | • Badgers outblock Broncos 10.5 - 4.0 | |
Wisconsin hit .297 (59 kills – 16 errors – 145 attempts) as a team while keeping Western Michigan to .162 (54-28-160, not letting it hit above .100 for two sets. WMU's Carlee Berland hit .545 (13-1-22) to lead all players, while freshman Courtney Thomas and sophomore Dominique Thompson led the Badgers with identical hitting percentages of .444 (10-2-18).
Senior Janelle Gabrielsen finished with 21 assists and 14 digs, good for her third double-double of the season and 40th of her career. Gabrielsen also led the Badgers with three of four service aces for the Badgers. Thomas also put up 31 assists to record a double-double.
Sophomore Annemarie Hickey led all players with 19 digs and Wisconsin oublocked Western Michigan 10.5-4.0. Chapman and junior Alexis Mitchell led all players with five blocks apiece.
Although both teams finished with the same number of attempts (43) and errors (six) in the first set, the Badgers had the advantage in kills, which ultimately gave them the set win. Five different players had more than one kill for Wisconsin, while only two Western Michigan players scored more than once.
The Badgers were also dominant on the defensive side of the ball, outdigging the Broncos 24-20 in the first set and keeping them to a .093 (10-6-43) hitting percentage as a team.
Wisconsin used a 3-0 run to kick off the second set, but Western Michigan came back, taking advantage of six UW errors. The Broncos were also able to string points together, finishing the set with their highest hitting percentage in the match at .351 (17-4-37). Although the Badgers rallied to tie the score at 17 on a kill from Thomas, WMU went on a 4-0 run to take the lead and go on to win the set.
The Badgers performed much better on both sides of the ball in the third set, which started with a service ace from freshman Caroline Workman. WMU tied the score early in the set but Wisconsin used a 5-0 run to keep the lead. The Broncos were only able to cut the Badgers' lead by three points before Wisconsin used another run late in the set to win.
Wisconsin committed only two errors in the third set while capitalizing on Western Michigan's 10 errors. The Badgers' highest hitting percentage in the match came in the fourth set, when the team hit .405 (17-2-37). Although two WMU players finished with six kills to lead all players in the final frame, six Badger players had more than one score, which proved to be the difference maker.
Wisconsin returns to the court Saturday night at 7 p.m. to face Notre Dame for the championship of the InnTowner Invitational.
