| | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Purdue
| 18 | 19 | 15 | -- | -- | Wisconsin
| 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | -- | | Stats Leaders
| | PUR | | WIS | | Drews - 16 | Kills | Thomas - 12 | | Nichol - 28 | Assists | Carlini - 34 | | Drews - .227 | Hit %
| Nelson - .438 | | Evans, Neill - 13 | Digs | Morey - 20 | | Nichol, Evans, Jones - 3 | Blocks | Nelson - 4 | | None | Aces | Morey - 2 | | Stats Comparison
| PUR | WIS | | Kills | 32 | 43 | | Hitting Pct. | .098 | .228 | | Assists | 31 | 40 | | Service Aces | 0 | 3 | | Digs | 55 | 60 | | Total Blocks | 7 | 7 | | |
Nov. 28, 2014
MADISON, Wis. -- Intense points, broken records and the claiming of the Big Ten Conference title made for a memorable senior night Friday for the second-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team. The Badgers toppled No. 19 Purdue 25-18, 25-19, 25-15 in front of a sold-out crowd to in the UW Field House.
Wisconsin closed the regular season by clinching the outright Big Ten title at 19-1, its fifth overall and first since 2001. The win also marks UW’s 19th straight triumph, breaking the school’s previous mark of 18 straight wins 1997 and improves the team to 28-2 on the season.
| Fast Facts | | • Wisconsin clinches Big Ten title for first time since 2001 | | • UW ended the home season with a 12-1 record, dropping just five sets in 13 matches | | • UW hit .228 (45-15-123) overall behind Courtney Thomas with 12 kills. | |
And playing in front of their fifth home sell-out crowd this season, it was also a match to be remembered for the squad’s seven seniors, who were honored after the victory.
“I’m so proud of the seniors and what they’ve done,” UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “Changing of roles and being leaders… being willing to make sacrifices… they’ve done an awful lot and they’ve grown an awful lot throughout their careers, and certainly in the time that I’m here, I’m just really proud of them.”
Following her record-setting performance in the Badger’s win over Rutgers Wednesday, senior Courtney Thomas tallied a match-high 12 kills against the Boilermakers. She also tallied 10 digs in her eighth double-double effort of the season.
Freshman Kelli Bates followed with 10 kills and 14 digs for her fourth double-double of the year, helping the Badgers hit .228 (43 kills – 15 errors – 123 attempts) while holding Purdue to a .098 (32-20-123) attack percentage. Purdue’s Annie Drews led all players with 16 kills.
Both teams put up seven blocks overall, with Wisconsin being led by Haleigh Nelson’s four stuffs, while junior Taylor Morey led all players with 20 digs and two service aces. The Badgers recorded three aces in the match while not getting aced by Purdue.
“These aren’t sexy numbers for the match, and when you look at the box score, it was a great defensive effort by our team,” Sheffield said. “And a really, really good serving performance by both teams… both teams played incredible defense, both teams put a lot of pressure on the serve receive, and that’s what this match was. It was just two really good serve and passing and defensive teams that were going at it.”
The Badgers blasted out of the gate, capping off a 5-0 run with a big block to take a 10-2 lead early in the first set. A 6-0 Purdue run narrowed the score to 12-10, but consistent play at the net kept the Badgers in the lead throughout the period.
Senior Ellen Chapman put away two kills in three points to push UW to a 21-17 advantage. Bates set up the set point with a laser before an out-of-bounds Purdue attack awarded Wisconsin the 25-18 victory.
Despite being outblocked 4-2, the Badgers held the Boilermakers to a .083 (10-7-36) attack percentage in the first set while hitting .132 (13-8-38) themselves.
In the second set, three rockets from Thomas and a service ace from sophomore Lauren Carlini highlighted a 10-0 UW run that propelled the Badgers a quick 10-1. Purdue gained some momentum mid-set, as the Boilermakers cut the lead to 15-12. Another three kills by Thomas put UW up 22-16 before kills by Dominique Thompson and Nelson put Wisconsin up 2-0, heading into the break.
The Badgers’ hitting percentage increased to .256 (15-4-43) in the second behind Thomas’ six kills, while Purdue also upped their attack percentage to .116 (10-5-43). Both teams put up one block, but UW outdug the Boilermakers 23-19.
Wisconsin upped its blocking efforts in the final set, as back-to-back Badger stuffs pushed UW to a 7-3 advantage. A balanced Badger offense showed strength as well, as three UW hitters tallied kills in five points to extend Wisconsin’s lead to 14-9.
With UW leading 20-14, Bates drove home two kills and partnered with Nelson for a block just before junior Taylor Morey’s serve found a hole in the Purdue defense to give the Badgers match point at 24-14. The Boilermakers head off one match point but a final smash from Thomas was all it took to earn the final 25-15 set victory.
UW marked a match-high .286 (15-3-42) hitting percentage in the final set, while Purdue’s dropped to .091 (12-8-44).
The Badgers will find out on Sunday where they will be competing in the 2014 NCAA Championship. The 64-team bracket will be announced at 7:30 p.m. live on ESPNU. As Big Ten champions, Wisconsin will receive the conference’s automatic bid.
