Last night's venture into Evanston was short lived for the No. 21 Wisconsin volleyball team, as the Badgers (3-2 Big Ten, 13-4 overall) took to the road for one night and defeated Northwestern (0-5 Big Ten, 6-10 overall) 25-18, 25-19, 19-25, 25-19, on their home court.
Although both teams had trouble passing the ball throughout the match, it was Wisconsin's superior hitting and Northwestern's serving woes that ultimately gave the Badgers the advantage. Not even a change in personnel as the match progressed had lasting effects on the outcome of the match.
I was pleased with our win tonight on the road in the Big Ten. That's always great to get,"" UW head coach Pete Waite said. ""Northwestern did a pretty nice job of switching their setters after the second set and kind of changed the tempo of what was going on on the court.""
The first two sets each got off to slow starts for Wisconsin, but it did not take long for them to make up ground.
After giving up the first three points, the Badgers rattled off three straight points in the first set to take a 5-3 they would never relinquish, finishing the round with a .382 hitting percentage.
Wisconsin gave up the first point in the second set and fell behind 4-7 early on, but then went on 7-2 before heading into a Northwestern timeout ahead 13-9 with a .413 hitting percentage. The Wildcats were victims of their own undoing in both rounds, committing eight service errors.
Northwestern came back late in the third set, extending a 12-13 lead with a six point run due to a number of Badger errors. Sophomore outside hitter Alison Wack countered with a few kills down the stretch, but Wisconsin was not able to post a comeback.
With the sweep out of the picture, Wisconsin nonetheless came through with a strong offensive stance in the last set, fueled by a kill and a block from senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers in the last three points.
The Wildcats committed a total of 11 service errors en route to their fifth straight conference loss this season, while the Badgers finished the night with six.
Wisconsin sophomore libero Kim Kuzma had perhaps the most impressive night on the court, pulling up 23 digs in four sets, just shy of her career-high of 25 digs. Offensively, Jeffers put up the best numbers for the Badgers, hitting .600 and throwing down nine kills on the night.
""We had some people step up and do some nice things,"" Waite said. ""Audra Jeffers had a big night for us and overall, there's a pretty good balance. We had seven people that finished up with anywhere from four kills to nine kills and that means we had a good balanced attack and we were happy about that.""
Next up on the schedule for the Badgers will be Michigan State (10-5, 2-2), who have shown prowess in hitting this year, averaging 14.22 kills per set as a team.
Sophomore outside hitter Jenilee Rathje ranks third in the Big Ten in kills with 3.93 per set while junior middle blocker Vanessa King presents opponents with a more complete attack, hitting .357 and posting 69 blocks so far on the year.
Wisconsin will face the Spartans in East Lansing on Saturday afternoon, with first set scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
