With two statement matches against ranked conference opponents on the line, the No. 19 Wisconsin volleyball team (4-4 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) fell further behind in the Big Ten standings with losses against No. 21 Purdue (5-3, 16-4) in a five set shootout and a sweep at the hands of No. 17 Illinois (5-3, 14-5). The two dropped matches leave the Badgers in the midst of a four-way tie for fourth place and a distant four games behind conference leader, No. 1 Penn State.
In the first set, with the Badgers up 22-19, Purdue took advantage of Wisconsin errors to tie the score up at 22 before Badgers junior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner tacked on a couple of kills to end the set. Dolgner tallied seven of her game-high 22 kills during the first set.
But the Boilermakers battled back, breaking an 8-8 tie in the second set and maintaining a solid lead thanks in large to a .350 team hitting effort.
Wisconsin turned the momentum in its direction once again with a drawn-out set in the third, serving for set point three times before Dolgner eventually served up an ace to earn another win for the Badgers.
Again, a tremendous hitting effort on the part of Purdue, led by a 1.000 performance from sophomore middle hitter Kristen Arthurs, put the Boilermakers back on track and kept them in the lead all the way to victory in the fourth set. The offensive drive seemed to stay with Purdue into the fifth, breaking an 8-8 tie with a 7-1 run to finish the match.
Although Dolgner led all players in kills, it was Arthurs and Purdue senior middle hitter Stephanie Lynch who stole the show with .609 and .459 hitting percentages respectively to end the evening. The Boilermakers also bested the Badgers in blocks 13-9.5 and service aces 8-3.
Senior defensive specialist Kelli Miller had the most success behind the service line for Purdue, finishing the night with five aces and no errors. Sophomore libero Kim Kuzma was Wisconsin's top performer on defense, digging up 25 hits on the night - five more than any other player.
Things were no easier for Wisconsin when they stepped on the court in Champaign, Ill., to do battle with the Illini. Despite starting out strong with a couple of three-point leads early on in the first set, Illinois came back to tie it at 18. Wisconsin stood tough and pulled ahead to serve set points at 24-23 and 25-24, but failed to convert, leaving the door open for Illini sophomore outside hitter Laura DeBruler to score on two kills, setting up a 27-25 win.
Again in the second, Wisconsin started off with an early advantage, up 13-11, but allowed Illinois to score five straight points to take a 16-13 lead which they would never reclaim. Wisconsin's last opportunity to take a set came late in the third, where the Badgers found themselves up 20-18 sparked in part from a rare kill by Kuzma. But the Illini rattled off a 7-2 rally and finished the Badgers in a sweep.
Illinois put up better numbers than Wisconsin in nearly every statistical category, including 11 blocks to the Badgers' four. Dolgner led the Badgers in kills with 10, but it was DeBruler who had the best offensive effort on the court with 14 kills on 38 attempts.
Illinois sophomore middle blocker showed why she is currently the best blocker in the Big Ten, stuffing six hits with one solo block in the three sets.
The Badgers will return to the UW Field House this weekend for the first time in three weeks, but the competition only gets tougher from here, as they play host to No. 1 Penn State on Friday.
