The Wisconsin volleyball team showed Wednesday why it is the most explosive squad in the Big Ten.
And once again, Northwestern failed to match that firepower.
The fifth-ranked Badgers (22-2, 12-1 Big Ten) strung together runs of 10-2 in Game 1, 12-1 in Game 2 and 9-0 in Game 3 to hand NU a 3-0 loss at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats (4-19, 1-12) have now lost 11 consecutive matches dating to Sept. 23.
NU played poorly throughout the match, recording just 25 kills compared with 24 errors. And with the top team in the Big Ten in town, the Cats needed a better effort.
“We played like they were the No. 5 team in the nation and we had no business being on the court,” NU coach Keylor Chan said. “We need to go out with the confidence that we can compete every single night.”
Wisconsin sprinted to a 4-0 lead to start Game 1, but NU played its best of the match to answer. The Cats ripped off a 7-1 run highlighted by a kill and a service ace by freshman Molly Kamp. But assorted NU errors and Badger kills piled up to end the game with the 10-2 run.
NU tied Game 2 at 3-3 before Wisconsin capitalized on Cats errors and its own strong serving to coast to a 15-4 win. High-flying middle blocker Sherisa Livingston helped the Badgers end Game 2 with a powerful kill, sandwiched between a block and a kill from Lizzy Fitzgerald.
The Cats didn’t threaten Wisconsin in Game 3. Nine errors took NU out of the game early, and the Badgers cruised to a 15-3 win that extended their conference winning streak to nine.
When NU did have opportunities to take the lead, Wisconsin made the necessary plays. Chan said the Cats need to learn how to match that type of play.
Jenny Maastricht, the AVCA National Player of the Week, led a balanced Badger attack with 11 kills. Freshman middle blocker Erika Lange had nine kills and three blocks for the Cats.
The Badgers kept NU out of sync with tough serving — something Lange said was one of NU’s keys to the match.
“They’re a very good serving team,” Lange said. “They serve really aggressively. That caused us some problems tonight — it was something we haven’t seen before.”
Hitting percentage is a statistic NU has struggled with all season, and Wednesday wasn’t any different. Wisconsin hit at a .337 clip, and NU converted only at a .012 percentage at the net.
“That’s why they’re a top-10 team,” NU senior Jennifer Armson said. “They can compete at a consistent level and we’re still trying to get that down.”
The road doesn’t get any easier as NU travels to Columbus, Ohio, to take on No. 13 Ohio State Friday. The Buckeyes (20-2, 10-2 Big Ten) are tied for second place in the Big Ten, and Armson said the Cats need to pick up their play to beat teams like Wisconsin and Ohio State.
“Being a young team we need to learn that when we have the opportunities we need to capitalize,” Armson said. “They’re not going to give us opportunities like some other teams would. We have to earn them.”