(UW ATHLETICS) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The No. 7 Wisconsin volleyball team (11-4, 5-0) defeated the No. 24 Illinois Fighting Illini (11-5, 3-2) in straight sets (25-18, 25-19, 25-22) at Huff Hall on Thursday night.
Freshman Audrey Flanagan led the way with 12 kills on a .417 hitting percentage, adding four digs and two blocks. Jaela Auguste and Eva Travis added nine kills apiece as Decelise Champion chipped in seven.
The Badgers jumped out to an early lead, grabbing a 15-8 edge into the media timeout. Wisconsin posted a strong .524 (11 – 0 – 21) hitting percentage in that window, with Flanagan tallying four kills.
UW stayed hot towards the end of the frame, holding off a late Illinois push with a series of kills from Auguste. The Badgers put the Fighting Illini away with a final kill from Auguste to seal the set 25-18 and take a 1-0 lead into set two.
Wisconsin built a 5-0 run under a strong serving run from Anna Bardaro early in the second frame, with three different Badgers tallying kills to grab an 11-7 lead.
Illinois provided an answer late, grabbing a 3-0 run before a kill from Travis shut it down. Late in the set, UW took advantage of Illinois attack errors to build separation before capping off the set with a 3-0 run of their own. UW posted a .323 hitting percentage in that frame, using their strong presence at the net to hold Illinois to a .050 performance (11 – 9 – 40).
In the third set, Champion led a 4-0 push early off three consecutive kills to build an 11-7 lead. The Badgers continued to come out swinging, finding another 3-0 run before Illinois provided a response of their own to tie the set, 22-22.
Wisconsin took advantage of an impressive save from defensive specialist Kristen Simon, who tallied a bump kill to grab a 23-22 lead. They followed it up by capturing the next two rallies, sealing the 3-0 sweep over Illinois with a 25-22 victory in the third set.
With the win, Wisconsin earned its seventh consecutive victory to remain undefeated in conference play with a 5-0 record. UW combined for a .361 hitting percentage (46 – 11 – 97) while tallying eight blocks on the night to hold the Illini to a .176 (39 – 20 – 108) performance.
Up Next: Wisconsin continues its road stint, taking the top-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday, Oct. 10. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CT with the match airing on FOX.
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