The Wisconsin Badgers beat the Michigan State Spartans 3-1 on Thursday evening, marking their fourth straight win as they improved to 17-6, including 11-2 in conference play.
Wisconsin fell behind early, losing the first set 26-24 before winning 25-21, 27-25, 25-20 for the 3-1 win. It was a different type of game for the Badgers, who hit .199, thanks to 26 errors. Michigan State wasn’t much better, hitting .212 with 25 errors.
Decelise Champion had 17 kills, while Jaela Auguste had 14 and four blocks.
Meanwhile, the Badgers had 10 blocks and eight service aces.
The win was Wisconsin’s 12th straight against Michigan State, as the Badgers found key moments to pull away in the final three sets. After the game, Kelly Sheffield praised his team’s ability to stick with the plan.
“I think it was just you gotta play clean in those moments,” Sheffield said about the third set comeback. “We were clean, made a couple big time plays there, and just stayed within ourselves. We’ve got the ability to do that.”
It was just the fifth team this season that Wisconsin hit under .200. It was a solid all-around performance, though, as Audrey Flanagan had nine kills, Lynney Tarnow had eight kills and six blocks, and Charlie Fuerbringer had another double-double.
Next up, the Badgers take on the No. 11 Penn State Nittany Lions on Sunday afternoon, getting another chance at a resume-boosting opportunity.
