(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – The No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team earned a four-set victory over the No. 20 Oregon Ducks to open Big Ten play at the UW Field House on Thursday night.
Freshman Audrey Flanagan led the Badgers (7-4, 1-0) with a career-high 19 kills, adding five digs and a block in the process. Decelise Champion stuffed the stat sheet with her second career double-double on 16 kills and 10 digs. Setter Charlie Fuerbringer added a match-high 50 assists and eight digs, while libero Anna Bardaro tallied 16 digs of her own.
The match opened in a back-and-forth battle before the Ducks (9-2, 0-1) eventually claimed the first set, 26-24. Flanagan and Champion combined for 10 of Wisconsin’s 14 kills in that frame to keep the score close.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 7-2 lead to open the second set, built off a strong serving run by Kristen Simon who tallied an ace in the process. Flanagan continued her stellar hitting performance in the frame, adding in seven kills including a key hit to halt a 3-0 Oregon run.
The Badgers clipped a .417 hitting percentage (16 – 1 – 36) in the second frame alone while holding Oregon to a .139 (12 – 7 – 36) performance, helping Wisconsin cruise to a 25-19 set victory to level the match.
Oregon provided a swift response to open the third frame, but Wisconsin found a quick 3-0 run off an ace and block from Fuerbringer to cut Oregon’s lead down to two. The Ducks continued on the attack, providing a pair of 3-0 runs of their own to build a 22-15 lead.
From there, Wisconsin flipped the momentum and claimed 11 of the last 13 rallies to seal the set win, 26-24. Champion highlighted the run with back-to-back kills, as Lynney Tarnow pitched in two of her own.
A pair of kills from Champion helped the Badgers cruise to a match win with a 25-14 victory in the fourth set. UW posted a match-high .625 hitting percentage (16 – 1 – 24) in that frame alone to pad the win.
The Badgers chipped in 11.0 blocks, and their physicality up front forced the Ducks into a .207 hitting percentage (54 – 25 – 104). Wisconsin’s hitting percentage of .382 (60 – 10 – 131) marked its highest of the season thus far.
With the win, the Badgers improve to 5-0 at the Field House this season and 1-0 in conference play.
Notes:
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With the win, Wisconsin improved to 5-1 overall against Oregon and remain undefeated at home (4-0).
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The Badgers outblocked the Ducks 11.0 to 2.0. This marks just the second match this season where Wisconsin has outblocked its opponent.
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UW’s offense worked efficiently, recording a season-best .382 (60-10-131) hitting percentage, and third-straight match hitting .300 or better.
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Freshman Audrey Flanagan set a career-best against the Ducks with 19 kills. Flanagan slashed a 19-2-40, .425 hitting percentage stat line.
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Opposite Decelise Champion tallied her second-career double-double with a 16 kill, 10 dig performance.
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Libero Anna Bardaro recorded her eighth match of the season with a double-figure dig total. Bardaro collected a match-high 16 digs.
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Wisconsin’s middles combined for 14 kills, seven each of Lynney Tarnow and Jaela Auguste.
Up Next: Wisconsin hits the road for a top-10 matchup against No. 10 Purdue at Mackey Arena on Sunday, Sept. 27. First serve is set for 3 p.m. with the match airing on Big Ten Network.
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