Badgers volleyball pounds Purdue

(UW ATHLETICS)  MADISON – The No. 10 Wisconsin volleyball team continued it’s winning ways, this time sweeping No. 11 Purdue (26-24, 25-15, 25-17) at the UW Field House to secure their sixth-straight victory. 

The Boilermakers (22-5, 13-5) jumped out of the gates with a 5-0 run to take an advantage early. The Badgers (21-4, 14-3) were quick to answer, accumulating a pair of kills each from outside hitter Mimi Colyer and middle blocker Carter Booth to go up 9-8. 

Wisconsin and Purdue continued to trade points throughout the rest of the set, as neither unit separated by more than two points. 

Booth clutched up late for UW, earning a kill close to the net to put the Badgers up 25-24. Moments later, Booth and right side Grace Egan combined on the block to notch a victory in set one in extra points.

The Badgers’ serve forced the Boilermakers out of system for the most part in set two, as UW racked up three aces en route to a 25-15 win. Wisconsin took advantage of multiple hitting errors turned in by Purdue, enjoying a 5-0 burst in the middle of set two to put away the Boilermakers.

Right side Grace Egan capped off the set with her seventh kill of the match, totaling nine on the evening—tying her highest total since the Badgers played No. 1 Nebraska on Oct. 31. 

Neither unit found much separation in set three, as Wisconsin won three-straight points to head into the media timeout with a narrow 15-14 lead. The Badgers came out of the timeout and continued to build their lead, winning the next six points behind the service of outside hitter Una Vajagic to extend their cushion to 21-14. 

From there, UW never looked back en route to their third consecutive sweep and seventh ranked win of the season. Booth concluded the match with her ninth kill, swinging .500 (9 – 2 -14) against the Boilermakers with a pair of blocks. 

UW spread the wealth on the offensive end, as five players finished with eight or more kills, led by 10 apiece from Vajagic and Colyer. With another double-digit performance, Colyer tied former Badger standout Dana Rettke for most consecutive matches with 10 or more kills—marking her 12th match in a row where she has accomplished that feat. The senior has done so twice this season. 

Vajagic added 11 digs in the process, earning her second consecutive double-double and sixth of her career.

From the middle, Andrew enjoyed an efficient evening with a hitting percentage of .533 (8 – 0 – 15). 

Setter Charlie Fuerbringer did it all in the process—guiding Wisconsin to a .311 hitting percentage with the help of 38 assists and two kills of her own. The reigning Big Ten Setter of the Week also chipped in 10 digs to notch her 16th career double-double. 

Libero Kirsten Simon rounded out the standouts by turning in a team-high 14 digs. Defensively, the Badgers held the Boilermakers to their lowest hitting percentage of the conference season at .184 (34 – 16 – 98).