SEATTLE, Wash. – The No. 12 Wisconsin volleyball team notched a road victory over Washington in four sets (25-19, 19-25, 25-16, 25-20) behind outside hitter Mimi Colyer’s 41st career double-double.
The Badgers (14-3, 7-2) jumped out to a quick start over the Huskies (9-10, 4-5) with the help of a 7-1 burst, highlighted by back-to-back kills turned in by Colyer, who finished with a match-high 25 on the evening.
UW followed it up with another 7-1 run moments later, as right side Grace Egan racked up one of the Badgers’ six service aces on the night. Wisconsin, with a 15-5 cushion, cruised to a 25-19 set one victory to get out in front.
Washington provided a strong answer in the second set, as the match went back-and-forth early on. The Huskies utilized two separate 4-0 runs, including the final four rallies to close out set two,19-25.
The Badgers took advantage of another run in set three, earning seven-straight points behind the serving of Colyer. The Lincoln, California, native racked up four service aces throughout the match, three of which coming during that serving run.
Egan powered Wisconsin to a win in the third set, contributing four kills in the process. The redshirt sophomore put together one of her most efficient nights on the offensive end—accumulating eight kills on 13 attempts with one error, good for a .538 hitting percentage.
In set four, UW enjoyed a 6-1 run to build an 11-6 lead, which they would go on to use during the rest of the match. The Badgers and Huskies continued to trade points, as the UW block stepped up with three in the set—including back-to-back denials late in the fourth set.
Wisconsin earned its seventh conference win of the season, as they defeated the Huskies for the first time in Seattle in program history.
Colyer completed her double-double with a team-high 18 digs, in addition to five blocks.
Setter Addy Horner picked up another double-double with her second-straight match with over 40 assists, as the freshman finished with 42, along with 10 digs.
Defensively, the Badgers held the Huskies to their lowest hitting percentage of the season at .108 (39 – 24 – 139). Wisconsin earned 11.0 blocks, marking double-digit block totals for the seventh time this year.
Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield (on the flow of tonight’s match): “We were scoring off of our serve, but we were having a very tough time with their serve for the first couple of sets. I thought we were very passive, and Mimi was carrying us. We weren’t able to get the ball to our middles, and I thought our young players learned a lesson about how to come here and use your voice and strong moves.”
(on the adjustments after set two): “I thought we came out of that very, very different. I thought we were attacking their serve with our passers, we were communicating with strength, we were defending, not just balls that were on us, but we were going and getting the balls.”
Notes:
- Wisconsin held Washington to it’s lowest hitting percentage this season. The Huskies hit just .108 (39-24-139) while Wisconsin hit .246 (55-21-138).
- For the fifth time this season, senior Mimi Colyer totaled 20+ kills in a match. Colyer had a match-high 25 kills, while also hitting .408 (25-5-49).
- The Badgers totaled double-digit blocks, 11.0, for the seventh time this season.
- In addition to Colyer’s 25 kills, she also tallied 18 digs for a new season-high. The 25 kills, 18 dig performance marks her fifth double-double this season and 41st of her career. She also added four service aces, also a new season-best.
- Setter Addy Horner collected her second double-double of the year, dishing out 42 assists and totaled 10 digs.
- The Badgers had four players who tallied double-digit digs, Colyer (18), Una Vajagic (11), Kristen Simon and Horner had 10 each as well.
- Freshman libero Kristen Simon now has totaled double-digit digs in eight-straight matches.
Up Next: The Badgers will wrap up their travels out in the pacific northwest with a conference battle against Oregon (13-6, 4-5) on Sunday, Oct. 26. The match is set to start at 3:00 p.m. CT and will be streamed on B1G+.
