MADISON, Wis. -- The No. 13 Wisconsin volleyball team fired on all cylinders to sweep Michigan State 25-12, 25-13, 25-17 on Sunday afternoon in the UW Field House. The Badgers picked up their third-straight sweep and sixth-straight win, giving up only two sets during the stretch.
 
The Badgers (18-6, 10-4 Big Ten) displayed their strength in all areas of the court by hitting .365 (38 kills - 11 errors - 74 total attempts) and holding MSU to just .012 (24-23-84).
 
"I thought we passed great," UW Head Coach Kelly Sheffield said. "I thought that was our best passing match of the season. We were really concerned with their serving. We think they're a really good serving team. They didn't really get on any runs, and I think a big part of that was our ball control was really solid."
 
"We were able to follow the game plan. We got our outsides involved early in the match and kind of loosened up that block and spread out a little bit."
 
A balanced offense guided the Badger attack as redshirt junior Romana Kriskova tallied a match-high nine kills.  Freshman Tionna Williams recorded eight putaways while junior Haleigh Nelson and sophomore Lauryn Gillis each added seven.
                                                      
Junior Lauren Carlini put up a match-high 31 assists and contributed three kills.
 
UW outblocked MSU 8-6 and outdug it 29-19. Nelson recorded seven blocks, including three block solos, while Kriskova and Carlini each totaled two. Senior Taylor Morey led all players with eight digs followed by Carlini with seven and sophomore Kelli Bates with five.
 
The Badgers got off to a roaring start thanks to an unstoppable defense that put up four blocks in the first 17 points. The Spartans had no answer to the stingy defense, and with a 14-3 UW lead, the Spartans' only points came from three Badger service errors. 
 
Led by Brooke Kranda, the MSU attack slowly figured out the UW defense to put up more of a fight. The Badgers couldn't be slowed, however, and one kill apiece by sophomore Lauryn Gillis and Kriskova followed by a service ace from Nelson guided a 4-0 Badger run to put the Badgers up 23-11. Another Gillis swing brought set point and a MSU error closed the Wisconsin's dominating performance to open the match.
 
UW saw a different side of the Spartans to start the second set. The duo of Kranda and Autumn Christenson made their presence at the net known by limiting the Badger attack and creating problems for the backcourt. After taking a timeout, a kill by Williams sparked a dominant 14-2 Badger run that saw three UW blocks and two service aces to bring the score to 21-10. Wisconsin closed the set in the same fashion as the first set as a Gillis kill made it 24-13 and a MSU error gave UW a two-set advantage.
 
Both sides battled to start the third set but UW never gave up the lead to keep the momentum on its side. The Spartans tied it at 5-5 thanks to a block, but two Williams' kills in the following four points allowed the Badgers to stay in control. The Spartans came as close as 10-8, but UW pulled away and never looked back after a kill by Carlini followed by a Nelson block and Spartan error proved to be a costly run for MSU.
 
A 7-3 run guided by kills from four different Badgers gave UW a comfortable 20-12 lead and forced the Spartan timeout. Williams retaliated for two Spartan points following the break with another kill and Carlini dumped it over to make it 23-15. A MSU error brought match point, but a Kranda kill and Badger error kept the feisty Spartans alive. Finally completing the sweep was Nelson, who fired off a kill to end the match.
 
"It's easy playing with each other, but we're still looking to get better every time," Gillis said of the team's winning streak. "That rhythm is there, it's just bettering that rhythm now."
 
"It's showing that we are getting better at playing well for really long periods of time rather than having our roles of being great and being not so great. It's a sign of our improvement and how we're evolving." 
 
Next up, the Badgers hit the road after a four-match home stretch to face No. 25 Michigan for the second time in six days when they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Wednesday for a 6:30 p.m. match in the Cliff Keen Arena. UW downed the Wolverines in three sets last Friday in the Field House.