University of Illinois
#10 Wisconsin
November 11, 2006 | Volleyball
Nov. 11, 2006
Box Score
MADISON, Wis. - The Illinois volleyball team battled the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers for most of the match, but a balanced offense from the Badgers prevailed as they defeated the Illini 3-1 at the UW Field House in Madison on Saturday night. The Illini (14-12, 5-11 Big Ten), who were led by the efforts of Vicki Brown with 13 kills, produced a feisty offense that led to a game-two victory, but it was the collapse of the passing game that told the story in the 30-16, 28-30, 30-22, 30-19 loss to the Badgers (21-5, 13-3).
"The story of tonight was our passing," head coach Don Hardin said. "It was contagious. We started to have trouble on serve receive and the passing problems just continued from there."
For the Illini, Brown totaled 13 kills on the night, trailed by freshman Kylie McCulley with 12 and junior Stefanie Alde, who collected 10 in the loss. Overall, the offensive attack started out slow for the Orange and Blue, hitting a dismal .086 in game one. From then on, the Illini picked up their intensity, tallying a .343 in game two to even the match, a .161 in game three and finished game four hitting .226. Overall, the offensive presence was there for Illinois, but the passing break down in games one and four proved to be too much to overcome.
Sophomore Lizzie Bazzetta dished out 37 assists in the performance, Brown grabbed four total blocks to lead the Orange and Blue in the category, while for the second straight night freshman Ashley Edinger paced all defenders with 12 digs.
In game one, the Illini looked primed to keep the pressure on as they evened the game early at 8-8. From that point on, a poor handling of tough Wisconsin serves gave the Badgers a formidable lead at 16-9. Despite the Illini remaining competitive, a deflated Illini offense could not recover as the Badgers tabbed a .500 hitting average in game one en route to a 30-16 victory. Wisconsin, who had everything going their way in game one, tallied two aces, 15 kills and only two errors in the opening contest to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
In game two, Wisconsin picked up where the left off to take an early 4-2 lead. In a momentum change, the Illini began to put their offense together as the held above a .400 hitting average for most of the game, tying the affair at 10-10. The offensive balance from the Illini, with junior Amy Palash contributing to the mix in game two, became too much for Wisconsin to handle. Palash collected five of her nine kills in the game, while Alde and McCulley pounded down four a piece to give Illinois a 28-25 lead. Wisconsin fought back to find themselves down by one at 28-27 behind two straight aces, but the Illini were able to sideout and tally a kill from McCulley to take game two, 30-28.
With a tight game behind them, Illinois struggled in the early goings of game three, falling behind 10-6. It was all Badgers from there, as they returned to a strong service game, keeping Illinois out of rhythm for most of the contest. Despite Brown pounding down four kills in the game, Wisconsin's duo of middle blocker Amy Bladow, who finished with nine kills, and middle blocker Audra Jeffers, who downed 13 in the match with no errors, could not be stopped. Wisconsin went on to win game three, 30-22.
Game four opened with both teams trading points at 8-8. From then on, Illinois seemed to solve its passing woes, as they jumped out to a 15-10 lead over Wisconsin, taking advantage of on-the-dot passing and another balanced offense. Illinois continued to lead at 17-14 until the pressure of the Wisconsin attack caught up to them. The Badgers would finish the game with a .500 hitting percentage and a .373 for the match. With things going their way, Wisconsin rode the arm of freshman Brittney Dolgner, who pounded down eight of her 18 kills in the game, taking the game 30-19 and the match 3-1.
The Illini return to the friendly confines of Huff Hall in their next two Big Ten matches, hosting Indiana and Purdue on Friday, Nov. 17 and Saturday, Nov. 18, respectively. The Illini begin action against Indiana and Purdue at 7 p.m. in Champaign, Ill.
