MILWAUKEE - The final weekend in this year's non-conference schedule yielded mixed results for the No. 13 Wisconsin volleyball team (10-2), as the Badgers exited the Marquette Cheese Bowl tournament with two wins and a loss. After fighting to earn a 25-21, 25-14, 23-25, 25-18 victory over American University (5-6), Wisconsin fell in a 23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 16-25, 13-15 battle with Oregon State before turning things around on Sunday with a 25-23, 25-23, 25-15 sweep of Marquette.
In Saturday afternoon's match with American, the Badgers put forth a well-rounded assault on both sides of the ball, hitting .371 as a team and putting up 18.5 blocks. Senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers was the star of the match, recording 11 kills and a career-high 13 blocks for her first double-double as a Badger. Junior right-side hitter Katherine Dykstra and junior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner also had field days, each throwing down 11 kills of their own. Senior outside hitter Rubena Sukaj kept things close for the Eagles, contributing five kills and two service aces in the third en route to their only set win, but was ultimately controlled by the Badger defense, finishing with 16 kills on 47 attempts and committing 12 errors.
I'm glad we got the win,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said. ""We were hoping to get it done in three, but that's something we have to learn as a team is to close teams out and play stronger in the third to finish things off so they don't gain momentum back. But our blocking game was fantastic - 18.5 blocks as opposed to two from American, it was fantastic. I think that kind of got in the heads of their hitters, and that's why their hitting percentages were down.""
Wisconsin's sole defeat over the weekend was at the hands of Oregon State, led primarily by sophomore outside hitter Jill Sawatzky and junior outside hitter Rachel Rourke. The two combined for 46 kills and 54.5 points, creating a headache for Waite's defense. Though Wisconsin outdug the Beavers 55 to 52, it was outdone on blocks with nine to their 11, as well as service aces with two to their six. The Badgers particularly struggled from the service line, where they committed 15 errors on the night, including two in the last five points of the final set. Solid offensive efforts by Dolgner, Jeffers,
Dykstra and sophomore outside hitter Allison Wack were not enough to counteract the Oregon State assault, as these four Badgers combined for just as many points as Sawatzky and Rourke alone.
""I think part of it is our serving has to keep them out of system more, which means the setter [would have] less options,"" Waite said of the loss. ""But Rourke, when she gets rolling, she's hitting over the top of the block to the deep end line, and it's very hard to cover ... we were trying to shift our block and shift our defense, but she was making some great plays.""
The Badgers regrouped to win their final match of the weekend in good form. After an unnerving 0-4 start to the first set, Wisconsin gathered momentum in the form of two service aces by freshman setter/outside hitter Janelle Gabrielsen. Though the Golden Eagles stayed in it during the first two sets, Wisconsin proved to have the upper hand during the match in blocks, kills, digs and serving - an area that needed much improvement from the previous night.
Dolgner led the offensive effort on the afternoon, throwing down 12 kills, while Dykstra provided the biggest defensive presence by putting up five blocks.
Combined with only four errors and seven aces, Wisconsin turned around its serving woes and put together a complete game to finish the tournament.
""It felt really good to get the win because this is the kind of match that makes me nervous,"" Waite said. ""We really wanted to come in here and play strong after a long match last night. It wasn't easy, but they showed a lot of resilience coming back.""
With the non-conference tournaments now in the rear-view mirror, Wisconsin will focus its energies on Big Ten play this weekend. The team will head to Iowa on Friday to take on the Hawkeyes (8-4) before traveling north to Minneapolis to do battle with No. 8 Minnesota (10-2) on Saturday.
