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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Friday, March 29, 2024
Badgers split road games against Purdue, Indiana

Brittney Dolgner: Senior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner notched a double-double against Purdue, totaling 10 kills and 12 digs.

Badgers split road games against Purdue, Indiana

On Friday, the Wisconsin volleyball team (4-4 Big Ten, 9-8 overall) traveled to West Lafayette, Ind., where they lost to the Purdue Boilermakers (3-5, 11-8) three sets to one. They then packed their bags for Bloomington on Sunday, where they sneaked by the Indiana Hoosiers (3-5, 14-8) three sets to two.

Wisconsin went into Purdue's Holloway Gymnasium facing the team with the Big Ten's worst record. The Badgers were looking for an easy win after defeating No. 18 Michigan State and No. 8 Michigan the previous weekend, but left with a difficult loss.

Wisconsin looked as if it would breeze by Purdue early, winning the first set 25-16 after a 12-2 run to finish the set.

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However, in the second set an ankle injury to sophomore middle blocker Elle Ohlander, who returned later in the match shifted momentum.

After being tied at 13, the Boilermakers went on an 8-1 run, eventually winning the second set 25-23. The third and fourth sets went back and forth, but Purdue prevailed in both, taking each set by the score of 25-21.

Even in a disappointing loss, there were positives the Badgers could take from the match.

Senior outside hitter Brittney Dolgner, coming off a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week award, recorded her third straight double-double, picking up 10 kills and 12 digs.

Freshman middle blocker Alexis Mitchell continued to improve. In only the seventh start of her young career, she posted 14 kills and three blocks on a .636 hitting percentage.

Freshman outside hitter Ariel Turner pounded home a match-high 22 kills on a .476 hitting percentage, adding eight digs as well against the Hoosiers.

""We have to rebound after this match and get ready for Sunday,"" head coach Pete Waite said Friday.

That is exactly what the Badgers did as they headed to the University Gymnasium in Bloomington, in what proved to be a nail-biting test of the Badgers' determination.

The Badgers got off to a quick start, winning the first set 25-20.

The Hoosiers mixed things up, using an unorthodox combination of two setters, sophomore Mary Chaudoin and freshman Whitney Granado, to tally a total of 47 assists.

Indiana responded to the opening set, winning a one-sided second set 25-15. Wisconsin squeezed by in the third, taking it 25-22, but fell off its game in the fourth.

The Hoosiers knotted the match at two sets apiece after taking the fourth set, 25-17.

After the fifth set was deadlocked at nine, the Badgers went on a 6-2 run to end the match.

Just as she has done in most Badger wins this season, Dolgner turned in a strong performance with 15 kills, while sophomore setter Janelle Gabrielsen continued to be the anchor with 36 assists and 18 digs. Gabrielsen even added six kills when moved to attacker.

What came as a surprise Sunday were Wisconsin's season-high 14 blocks (nine from Mitchell), which was uncharacteristic of the Badgers, who rank second to last in the Big Ten with 1.88 blocks per set.

On the other side of the net, Indiana was led by junior middle blocker Ashley Benson, who had a match-high 17 kills.

The Badgers will now look ahead to this weekend's homestand, in which they will face the Illinois Fighting Illini (6-2, 14-3) and the Northwestern Wildcats (2-6, 11-9).

—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.

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