(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – The No. 11 Wisconsin volleyball team battled past Illinois to earn its second victory in as many days, sweeping the Fighting Illini (35-33, 25-15, 25-23) to notch their 20th win of the season.
Set one provided the most back-and-forth action of the match, as neither team found separation early on. After falling behind midway through, the Badgers went on to rattle off six of eight points to cut the deficit to one, highlighted by a service ace from outside hitter Una Vajagic.
Down 21-23, Wisconsin (20-4, 13-3) won three consecutive rallies to bring it to match point with the help of back-to-back kills turned in by right side Grace Egan.
Illinois (13-12, 8-8) provided a response though, as the teams continued to trade points down the stretch. UW was able to separate in the end with another kill from Egan, who finished with seven on the evening to pair with her team-high three service aces. The Badgers forced an attack error and secured a hard-fought 35-33 victory in set one.
Wisconsin came out firing in set two, continuing to use their strong serve to force the Fighting Illini out of their rhythm. The Badgers built a 15-5 cushion right away via an ace from Colyer, Egan and freshman Natalie Wardlow.
UW stayed hot towards the end of the frame, stringing together a 5-0 run to put away the Fighting Illini and take a 2-0 lead into set three for the second consecutive night.
Illinois provided an answer quickly in set three, trading points once again with the Badgers throughout. Late in the set, UW took advantage of a service error to take a 22-21 lead. They followed it up with a setter dump from sophomore Charlie Fuerbringer, her lone kill of the night.
From there, the Badgers held off the Fighting Illini to sweep the season series—winning all six sets in their pair of matches. Saturday’s win marks the 12-straight victory over Illinois.
Colyer was the standout on the offensive end for Wisconsin to cap off the weekend, finishing with a team-high 24 kills, her best mark in a three-set match this season. The senior chipped in eight digs and a pair of blocks, too.
On the front line, Fuerbringer matched her career-best in blocks with six to lead the Badgers to 11.5 in total in comparison to Illinois’ four. Senior Alicia Andrew matched Fuerbringer with six blocks of her own as well.
Vajagic continued to excel, putting together a strong weekend on the road for Wisconsin. The redshirt sophomore earned her fifth double-double of her career with 10 kills and 10 digs, fresh off of a standout showing against Michigan State on Friday night.
Badgers hockey beats Buckeyes in overtime: After a back-and-forth 60 minutes, Gavin Morrissey played hero 1:39 into overtime on the power play to give the No. 7 Wisconsin men’s hockey team a 6-5 overtime victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Ohio State (5-5-0, 1-3-0 Big Ten – 4 points) grabbed the lead at 9:01 and then made it a 2-0 game just over a minute later at 10:12 into the frame. Wisconsin (8-2-2, 4-2-0 Big Ten – 11 points) battled back, with Oliver Tulk scoring at 11:12 before Grady Deering tied it up at 15:14. UW added two more goals in the second frame, from Logan Hensler on and end-to-end runs at 1:45 and Bruno Idžan netting his first NCAA goal at 7:58, to take a 4-2 lead into the third.
Ohio State closed in on Wisconsin’s lead 2:48 into the third, before Vasily Zelenov made it 5-3, at 7:59. The Buckeyes continued to fight, adding goals at 10:20 and 12:33 into the third to take the game to overtime tied at five. OSU took a penalty with 13 seconds left in the third and Gavin Morrissey capitalized on the man advantage, 1:39 into overtime, to give UW a 6-5 win in its final game at the Kohl Center for the fall semester.
How it Happened
Max Montes opened the scoring for the Buckeyes, 9:01 into the first period.
OSU extended its lead with a goal from Adam Eisele at 10:12 into the opening frame.
Exactly one minute later, at 11:12, freshman forward Tulk got Wisconsin on the board.
At 15:14, freshman forward Deering tied the game at two with a shot from the slot.
Sophomore defenseman Hensler tallied his third goal of the year, 1:45 into the second frame, unassisted.
Freshman forward Idžan tallied his first NCAA goal at 7:58 into the second period, to send UW into the third with a 4-2 lead.
The Buckeyes continued to battle, with Adam Eisele scoring his second goal of the game 2:48 into the third frame.
Wisconsin regained its two-goal lead, 7:59 into the third, with freshman forward Zelenov’s first collegiate goal.
Ohio State scored twice more in the third period, with Jake Dunlap finding the back of the net at 10:20 and Nathan McBrayer scoring at 12:33, to tie the game at five and send the contest to overtime.
With 13 seconds remaining in the third period, OSU took a penalty that carried over into the extra time. Sophomore forward Morrissey capitalized on the power play, scoring 1:39 into overtime to claim a 6-5 victory to close out the first half of Kohl Center play.
Wisconsin went 1-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 36-24 deficit in shots on goal.
Notes to know
– This marks Wisconsin’s first overtime win since a 5-4 victory in extra time on Nov. 15, 2024, at Penn State
– Gavin Morrissey is on a nine-game point streak (3 goals, 7 assists)
– Bruno Idžan and Vasily Zelenov scored their first collegiate goals
Up Next: The Badgers travel to East Lansing, Michigan, to face No. 1 Michigan State for their penultimate series of the fall semester on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22. Friday’s game starts at 7:30 p.m. CT, while puck drop is set for 6 p.m. CT on Saturday.
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