In its match Saturday night, the No. 21 Wisconsin volleyball team (4-2 Big Ten, 14-4 overall) spread the offense all over the court and rallied for a 25-21, 26-24, 25-21 victory over Michigan State (3-3, 11-6) in East Lansing.
Senior middle blocker Audra Jeffers led the team with eight kills on the night, but four other Badgers contributed seven kills each to out-hit the Spartans 46-40 en route to their fourth consecutive conference win.
Despite the sweep, Michigan State remained competitive in each set. In the first, the Spartans locked up the score early with a 5-5 tie before the Badgers broke out on a 6-1 run. But Michigan State battled back to within one at 14-13.
Wisconsin took off once again, fueled by a solo block by freshman middle blocker Elle Ohlander, and reached set point at 24-19. A kill by junior right-side hitter Katherine Dykstra put the game away two points later.
Ten ties during the second set, including a late tie at 17-17, threatened the Badgers' sweep. Michigan State jumped ahead three points later to a 20-18 lead before Wisconsin rallied behind a Spartan error and a block from sophomore outside hitter Allison Wack and Jeffers to even the score once again. Ties at 21, 22, and 24 left the door open for either team to take the set, but a kill from junior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner and a Spartan hitting error gave the Badgers the advantage to close it out.
Again, late in the third, Michigan State kept things close, coming from behind to tie the game at 21 off a kill from freshman outside hitter Becca Zlabis. Wisconsin picked up and never looked back at this point, as kills from freshman middle blocker Elle Ohlander and Dolgner and a combined block from the pair put the Badgers at match point before an error on Spartan freshman setter Natalie Emro ended the match. It was Michigan State's first home loss of the season.
Dykstra, Ohlander, Wack and senior middle blocker Morgan Salow each tabbed seven kills on the night, though it was Michigan State's Zlabis who led all players with 12 on the night. Dolgner, the team's leader in kills this season, only had five kills in the match, but was curiously held out of the first set.
Defensively, Wisconsin was outblocked 8-7 and outdug 33-29, but Badger sophomore libero Kim Kuzma put forth another outstanding effort, tallying 15 digs to lead all players.
Wisconsin will continue its conference season on the road next weekend, as it travels to No. 18 Purdue Friday night and No. 19 Illinois Saturday.
The Fighting Illini swept their competition last weekend and will likely move up in the polls after defeating No. 23 Michigan on Saturday, while the Boilermakers will likely fall after their loss in Ann Arbor Friday.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
