UW Badgers cruise past Illinois in volleyball

(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – The No. 7 Wisconsin women’s volleyball team earned it’s ninth consecutive victory behind a handful of offensive runs and one of their top defensive performances of the season, taking down Illinois (RV) (25-15, 25-16, 25-20) in straight sets. 

The Badgers (10-1, 3-0) notched their third conference win of the year—handing the Fighting Illini (7-4, 2-1) their first Big Ten blemish of the season. The victory marked UW’s third-straight sweep, all of which coming in conference play, in addition to the beginning of the Big Ten: Discover Volleyball Challenge. 

Set one provided an assortment of runs between both teams, as the Badgers were able to separate after the match was tied at 9-9. A pair of kills turned in by outside hitter Mimi Colyer highlighted the rally, in addition to a quality swing from right side Madison Quest. 

Illinois responded right away with a 4-0 run of their own, ultimately taking a 15-14 lead. The Badgers answered in a big way, however, putting together an 11-0 burst to dominate the latter half of the set to win the first set 25-15. Wisconsin was paced by the serving run of Colyer, who tallied four kills and a service ace in the process. UW racked up 17 digs in the first set, too. 

Set two provided a similar storyline as the Badgers utilized a 9-0 run behind the serving of middle blocker Natalie Wardlow to give the unit a 15-6 lead. Wardlow finished with a service ace in that stretch, while middle blocker Carter Booth found a rhythm with a couple of kills. 

Wisconsin coasted to a 25-17 victory in set two, bouncing back quickly from a 5-0 run from the Fighting Illini. Setter Charlie Fuerbringer capped it off on a high note, as the sophomore earned back-to-back kills via setter dumps to give UW the 2-0 advantage. 

After Illinois cut the Badgers’ lead to 13-12 in set three, Wisconsin continued to put together a strong effort on the defensive end—allowing the offense to take over in the final set of the match. The Badgers found their block with the help of Booth, Quest, Andrew and Vajagic—taking a 24-15 lead into the late stages of set three.

A hitting error from Illinois wrapped up Thursday’s battle, as Wisconsin finished with a season-high in digs in a three-set match—racking up 57 in total. 

Libero Kristen Simon led the way in that department with 14, using the help of freshman Aniya Warren, who earned double-digit digs for the second time this season with 10. 

For the 11th consecutive match, Colyer finished with double-digit kills, this time leading the Badgers at 16. Vajagic followed suit with 10 kills of her own, marking the fourth match in double-digits for the redshirt sophomore. Booth continued her efficient streak on the front line, as the senior led Wisconsin in hitting percentage at .455 (6 – 1 – 11), complementing her six blocks.

Fuerbringer rounded out the Badgers on the offensive end, putting together her second game in a row with 38 assists—adding in eight digs, three kills and a pair of blocks as well.