No. 7 Wisconsin swept Northwestern in straight sets Saturday.
The Wildcats (3-7, 1-1 Big Ten) were overpowered by the Badgers’ (7-4, 1-1 Big Ten) .413 hitting percentage, big block and serving, falling in straight sets at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Wisconsin defeated NU 25-16, 25-16, 25-15.
“Wisconsin’s a really good club,” coach Tim Nollan said. “(I) give them a lot of credit. They offensively were really, really good tonight. We had a hard time putting enough service pressure to slow them down.”
The first set began as a back-and-forth affair, with sophomore outside hitter Lily Wagner collecting two kills early. When the Badgers’ offense came to life, pulling ahead 9-5, the ’Cats battled back on kills from graduate student setter Alexa Rousseau and junior outside hitter Buse Hazan. But it wasn’t enough. Errors from NU and all-around play from Wisconsin gave the Badgers enough momentum to finish the set 25-16.
Wisconsin started the second set hot with three blocks in a row — a fraction of the nine they recorded throughout the match. The ’Cats trailed for the rest of the set as the Badgers’ offense intensified, recording a match-high .464 hitting percentage as a team in the second frame. Despite a last-minute 3-0 run by NU, Wisconsin took the set 25-16.
The Badgers claimed the lead early in the third set and kept it for the remainder of the match. Hazan led the ’Cats offense, tallying three kills and an ace throughout the set, but also contributed three of NU’s seven attack errors throughout the frame. Four of Wisconsin’s nine service aces and a potent offense helped bring the Badgers to their first conference win of the season, 25-15.
“I would say we competed really hard in the first half of all the sets that we played,” Rousseau said. “I think that was really exciting. Our goal was kind of just to celebrate every single point.”
Despite the loss, junior setter Lauren Carter led the team in assists at 11, while sophomore outside hitter Lily Wagner, Hazan and Rousseau tallied six kills apiece. Sophomore libero Drew Wright recorded a team-leading six digs.
Saturday’s match also marked the second consecutive competition without junior outside hitter Kathryn Randorf, who is out with an undisclosed injury and a boot on her right foot. Stepping into Randorf’s starting spot was junior outside hitter Rylen Reid, who recorded four kills.
“In our program, it’s next person up,” Nollan said. “We shifted Rylen over to that spot and she’s done a great job the last two nights, competing and stepping into kind of a new spot.”
The ’Cats will be back in action against current No. 10 Purdue Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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