The Badgers overcame an error-filled day in a sweep of No. 11 Purdue
The No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers got a big win at Fieldhouse on Wednesday, sweeping the No. 11 Purdue Boilermakers 3-0 to win their sixth straight game.
Wisconsin has been rolling over the past few weeks since its loss to the No. 1 Nebraska Cornhuskers, sweeping five of its last six opponents and now winning its third seed game in this stretch.
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With the win, they improved to 21-4 and 14-3 in conference play, while Purdue fell to 22-5 and 13-4 in conference play, marking their second straight loss after a nine-game winning streak.
The Badgers fell behind early in the first set, with Purdue taking an early 5-1 lead thanks to back-to-back kills from Kenna Woolard (2x), Grace Hennie, and Akasha Anderson, as well as an attack error from Grace Egan.
From there, Wisconsin began to slowly chip away at the lead, going on a 5-1 run of its own to take a 9-8 lead. Both sides were tight throughout the set after that, as there were four ties from that point until Wisconsin took a 15-14 lead due to a service error.
Things won’t change until the final points. Wisconsin looked to be pulling away with back-to-back points to take a 23-21 lead behind kills from Ona Vajjagic and Mimi Collier, but Purdue responded with back-to-back points of their own. Finally, with the teams tied at 24 points each, Carter Booth had two key moments: a kill to go up one and a big block to give Wisconsin the set 26-24.
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Booth was the hero in the first set, recording six kills and a block while hitting .857.
It was a much different story in the second set. Wisconsin dominated from the start, taking an 8-3 lead, thanks to three kills and an ace from Ona Vajagic. The Badgers never trailed in the set as they cruised to a 25-15 win, taking a 2-0 lead.
After hitting nearly .400 in the first set, Purdue struggled in the second, hitting .104. They had six offensive fouls, two service fouls and three blocking fouls as Wisconsin had the better combination.
The third set was much like the first, with neither side leading by more than one until Wisconsin led 9-7. Purdue responded with a 6-2 run to take a 13-11 lead. After the teams split the next two points, the Boilermakers took a 14-12 lead with some hope of taking things to a fourth set.
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The Badgers were keen to quash those hopes immediately. Wisconsin went on a 9-0 run to take a 21-12 lead and eventually win the third set 25-17. Alicia Andrew was huge on the run, recording three kills and a block, and the Badgers earned their fifth sweep in six games.
With the win, Wisconsin improved to 21-4 and 14-3 in conference play, while earning another big win on its resume. Next up for the Badgers is a home matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday. First submission is set for 1:00 p.m