In its last opportunity to make a run for the conference title, the No. 9 Wisconsin volleyball team (14-3 Big Ten, 22-4 overall) fell to the No. 1 Nittany Lions (17-0, 25-2) at Penn State by scores of 30-28, 30-22, 24-30, 30-25. The victory secures Penn State's fifth straight Big Ten championship and gives Wisconsin its second loss in three weeks.
Penn State is a powerful team. They deserve a No. 1 ranking and they certainly have a right to take the Big Ten championship,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said. ""Early in the first game we were actually playing well and had the lead, but they kind of stormed back. We weren't able to slow them down and it looked like after the second game '¦ they might win in three.""
The Badgers did in fact start the match playing well, taking a 12-8 lead thanks in large part to a pair of service aces from sophomore outside hitter Caity DuPont. Wisconsin remained ahead, holding a four point lead at 19-15.
However, poor passing and an improved Nittany Lion offense helped them to tie the game at 26 and later win on a kill from sophomore outside hitter Megan Hodge.
Penn State took the second set with a strong-armed display of offensive power, hitting better than .640 as a team and only giving up one block to the Badgers. But Wisconsin's luck turned around in the third, breaking away with a 21-18 lead and .280 hitting to steal a game from Penn State. UW continued to play tough in the fourth, and kept within two of the leading Lions at 26-24, but the home team pulled away and sealed the match with a service ace from junior outside hitter Nicole Fawcett.
""I think [our win in game three] actually shows that we are the top two teams in the conference,"" Waite said. ""I'm happy for the fact that we did that, as we could possibly meet a team that is just as strong as Penn State in the NCAA tournament.""
The Badgers put up respectable statistics for the evening, hitting .208 as a team and tallying 7.5 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Brittney Dolgner led the team in kills with 20 while sophomore opposite hitter Katherine Dykstra threw down 10 of her own. But the Nittany Lions, led by Fawcett, performed far better, hitting .346 as a team, who posted 24 kills on 43 attempts and14 stuffs on defense. Penn State also outdug the Badgers 51 to 46, even though Wisconsin had seven service aces to the Nittany Lions' three.
Wisconsin is back on the road Monday in Columbus to take on Ohio State. The Buckeyes (7-10, 13-13) have been struggling since starting the conference season and currently sit tenth in the conference in kills. The Badgers, who rank third in the Big Ten in blocking, should have the upper hand on the night as they work to improve their national standing just one week before the field is selected for the 2007 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
