MADISON, Wis. -- In the first-ever meeting between the two teams, sixth-ranked Wisconsin swept Rutgers on Friday night in the UW Field House. The Badges downed the Scarlet Knights 25-8, 25-17, 25-15 in the first Big Ten Conference between the teams.
The victory extends Wisconsin’s winning streak to four, its longest Big Ten winning streak since 2008, and improves the Badgers to 13-2 and 4-1 in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin showed balanced on offense as 11 different players put away kills to the team’s .389 (42 kills) overall attack percentage. Four Badgers hit better than .500, led by senior Ellen Chapman with a .556. Freshman Kelli Bates marked a team-best 11 kills in the win, followed by sophomore Haleigh Nelson with nine. Both UW players hit .500.
Sophomore Lauren Carlini tallied her 10th double-double on the season, putting up 22 assists and 11 digs. Junior Taylor Morey led all players with 13 digs, while Nelson put up a team-best six blocks to mark a new season best.
"We were able to get everybody in," head coach Kelly Sheffield said. "We have our rotation of eight or nine people and there are a lot more than that who are working really hard and allowing us to have the season that we are having without getting as much playing time as they would on some other teams."
Wisconsin outblocked Rutgers (7-11, 0-5) 12-4 in an effort that held the Scarlet Knights to a .071 team hitting percentage.
Watch match point as @BadgerVB defeats @RUvball in 3 Sets during the first-ever meeting between the schools http://t.co/UEDYnEVArz
— BTN Volleyball (@BTNVolleyball) October 11, 2014
