(UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN ATHLETICS) CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– It was a Badger volleyball team that looked a little different but that didn’t stop No. 1-ranked Wisconsin (3-0, 3-0 B1G) from sweeping Illinois, 25-20, 30-28, 25-9, on Friday afternoon at Huff Hall.
Head coach Kelly Sheffield started Jade Demps and Deahna Kraft on the left side in place of regular starters Molly Haggerty and Grace Loberg. The first-time starters didn’t disappoint as Kraft, a fifth-year transfer from Pepperdine where she played sand volleyball, finished second on the team with 11 kills. Demps, a freshman from Raleigh, North Carolina, added six kills and a block solo.
Wisconsin didn’t lose anything on offense as it hit .371 (48 kills – 9 errors – 105 attempts) as a team. Senior Dana Rettke led all players with 14 kills, hitting .565 (14-1-23). Redshirt junior Danielle Hart added nine kills, hitting .750 (9-0-12) while freshman Devyn Robinson added seven kills (7-0-18). Senior Sydney Hilley put up 39 assists in running the UW offense.
The Badger defense held Illinois (2-1, 2-1) to a .168 (36-19-101) hitting percentage as a team, outblocking the Illini 8-3 and finishing with a 39-34 edge in digs. Rettke and Robinson led all players with four blocks apiece while senior Lauren Barnes finished with a team-high 11 digs.
UW also stopped Illinois at the service line. The Illini entered the match averaging an NCAA-best 3.00 service aces per set but the Badgers gave up only three aces the entire match. Wisconsin finished with four aces, including three from sophomore Izzy Ashburn.
Wisconsin led the entire first set but Illinois made some adjustments in the second set, forcing the set into extra points. The period was tied at 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 before two errors by the Illini gave UW a 2-0 lead in the match. The loss took the win out Illinois’ sails as the Badgers jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the third set and cruised to the sweep.
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