No. 11 Badgers notch season sweep over Illinois

Saturday, November 15

Urbana-Champaign, IL

8 PM

Wisconsin Badgers

20-4,13-3Big Ten

Illinois

13-12,8-8Big Ten

Wisconsin

Illinois

Photo by: Ashley Steltenpohl

No. 11 Badgers notch season sweep over Illinois

November 15, 2025 | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Colyer, Vajagic pace UW in fifth-straight win

By: Maddox Durst

MADISON, Wis. - The No. 11 Wisconsin volleyball team battled past Illinois to earn its second victory in as many days, sweeping the Fighting Illini (35-33, 25-15, 25-23) to notch their 20th win of the season.

Set one provided the most back-and-forth action of the match, as neither team found separation early on. After falling behind midway through, the Badgers went on to rattle off six of eight points to cut the deficit to one, highlighted by a service ace from outside hitter Una Vajagic.

Down 21-23, Wisconsin (20-4, 13-3) won three consecutive rallies to bring it to match point with the help of back-to-back kills turned in by right side Grace Egan.

Illinois (13-12, 8-8) provided a response though, as the teams continued to trade points down the stretch. UW was able to separate in the end with another kill from Egan, who finished with seven on the evening to pair with her team-high three service aces. The Badgers forced an attack error and secured a hard-fought 35-33 victory in set one.

Wisconsin came out firing in set two, continuing to use their strong serve to force the Fighting Illini out of their rhythm. The Badgers built a 15-5 cushion right away via an ace from Colyer, Egan and freshman Natalie Wardlow.

UW stayed hot towards the end of the frame, stringing together a 5-0 run to put away the Fighting Illini and take a 2-0 lead into set three for the second consecutive night.

Illinois provided an answer quickly in set three, trading points once again with the Badgers throughout. Late in the set, UW took advantage of a service error to take a 22-21 lead. They followed it up with a setter dump from sophomore Charlie Fuerbringer, her lone kill of the night.

From there, the Badgers held off the Fighting Illini to sweep the season series—winning all six sets in their pair of matches. Saturday's win marks the 12-straight victory over Illinois.

Colyer was the standout on the offensive end for Wisconsin to cap off the weekend, finishing with a team-high 24 kills, her best mark in a three-set match this season. The senior chipped in eight digs and a pair of blocks, too.

On the front line, Fuerbringer matched her career-best in blocks with six to lead the Badgers to 11.5 in total in comparison to Illinois' four. Senior Alicia Andrew matched Fuerbringer with six blocks of her own as well.

Vajagic continued to excel, putting together a strong weekend on the road for Wisconsin. The redshirt sophomore earned her fifth double-double of her career with 10 kills and 10 digs, fresh off of a standout showing against Michigan State on Friday night.

Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield (on the weekend of action): "We've been playing some really good volleyball. This weekend, coming in and playing back-to-back, that's something we haven't done much this year and we have to do it that opening weekend of the tournament. We're not doing it in two different cities and two different time zones, but just so much more positive things this weekend to take from this. This was a challenge, and I thought our kids answered in a lot of different ways."

(On battling in set one): "We hung in there, that was the main thing. Certainly that was a big boost, big momentum, and you can see that with how the second set started."

Notes:

The Badgers totaled 11.5 blocks against Illinois. This marks the 11th match where UW reached double-digit block totals.
Outside hitter Mimi Colyer picked up back-to-back nights with 20 or more kills. Colyer totaled 24 kills against the Illini. This marks her eighth match with 20 or more kills. Colyer also set a season-best 24 kills in three sets and season-high 53 total attempts in three sets.
Mimi Colyer also surpasses Badger great Dana Rettke for most kills in a single season. Rettke finished with 413 in 2019, while Colyer is now at 418. She now sits at No. 5 in program history, where as Sarah Franklin sits at the top with 535 kills in 2024.
With 10 kills and 10 digs, Una Vajagic collected her fifth double-double of her career.
Setter Charlie Fuerbringer matched a career-best six blocks tonight. She last reached six blocks against Michigan St. on November 30, 2024.

Up Next: The Badgers return to Madison to take on No. 9 Purdue in a top-25 conference battle on Wednesday, Nov. 19. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. CT and the match will be televised on Big Ten Network.