Illinois volleyball’s (13-11, 8-6) six-game winning streak ended after a loss to No. 2 Wisconsin (22-1, 13-1). The game ended after straight sets in which the Illini scored no more than 13 points in any of the sets.
Each set featured a long Wisconsin scoring run, snatching momentum from the Illini. The first set saw the Badgers outscore the Illini 5-1. The Badgers finished the second and third set with at least a five-point run.
Senior outside hitter Raina Terry led the team with nine kills in the match. However, this marks the lowest amount of kills that Terry has had since Oct. 20 in a match versus Maryland, where she recorded just eight.
The Illini only had 12 points in the final set, their lowest in a single set since Oct. 25 against the Indiana Hoosiers, where they had 10 points in the fourth set.
The Badgers played a cleaner game than the Illini with only seven errors in the match compared to the Illini’s 24 errors. The Badgers dominated the Illini in every statistical category in the game.
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Senior middle blocker Devyn Robinson led the Badgers in kills, putting up 13 against the Illini. The senior had a perfect game with zero errors against the Illini.
The Illini struggled with a slow start in the first set allowing the Badgers to score the first five points of the match. By the time head coach Chris Tamas called timeout for the Illini, the score was already 12-4 in favor of the Badgers. The Illini went down by 10 before Tamas had to burn another timeout in the opening set.
The first set finished 25-13 in favor of the Badgers. The Illini tried to stop the bleeding going into the next set, but following a 3-0 run and a timeout, the Badgers still paved their way to victory, winning the second set 25-13.
The final set was the same as the last two with the Badgers dominating going into the media break 15-9. The Illini finished the game outscored 10-3 and lost the final set 25-12.
The loss for the Illini moves them to a tie at No. 5 in the conference place with the Michigan State Spartans. Wisconsin remains at No. 2 in the Big Ten, only behind Nebraska, who got the better of them in their first head to head on Oct. 21.
This match is the start of Illinois’ three-match road trip. The Illini’s next outing is against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City for a Friday matchup on B1G+.
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