The Spartan volleyball team entered the weekend riding a four-game winning streak, and a 3-1 win Friday at Jenison Field House against Northwestern only added fuel to the flames.
But the Spartans (16-7, 9-7 Big Ten) ran into a road-block Saturday as they fell 3-0 to the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers at Jenison Field House.
Utilizing terrific offensive outputs from multiple players, the Badgers (21-3, 15-1) took all three games from the unranked Spartans, 30-25, 30-25 and 30-20.
Last season’s co-Big Ten Player of the Year, Badger middle blocker Sherisa Livingston, pounded the Spartans for 18 kills with a .571 attacking percentage. Outside hitter Jill Odenthal added 17 kills for the Badgers.
But Spartan head coach Chuck Erbe said it wasn’t Livingston and Odenthal’s offense that buried the Spartans - it was the Badger defense.
“The fact is Wisconsin is a very good team, and they made it very difficult for us to do the things we wanted to do,” he said.
“They are a great defensive team.”
And the tough Badger defense combined with a weak Spartan attack equaled trouble for the Spartans, Erbe said.
“We didn’t have the discipline on defense tonight and we didn’t attack effectively,” he said.
“But Wisconsin had a lot to do with that.”
The Spartans also were without their most potent offensive threat, senior outside hitter Erin Hartley.
Hartley left midway through the second game with a bruised foot, a nagging injury she first sustained during an Oct. 6 match at Purdue.
“She was only half a player,” Erbe said.
“She couldn’t move and she couldn’t jump.”
Even without Hartley, the Spartans managed to be competitive with the Badgers in game two and for parts of game three.
“I don’t think there was a girl on our team who didn’t feel like we could win any one of the games,” sophomore middle blocker Jenny Rood said.
“Of course we’re disappointed that we lost, but I’m so proud of the effort tonight.”
Rood tied freshman outside hitter Kim Schram for the match with a team-high 11 kills. Ten of Rood’s kills came in games two and three.
Erbe echoed Rood’s thoughts about the Spartans’ effort and said he felt his team just ran into a superior opponent.
“This was not what you’d call a bad loss - we were competitive,” he said.
“I would have liked to take a game from them, but unfortunately, tonight we fell short.”
Against Northwestern (8-14, 4-11), the Spartans got a balanced attack with four players pounding home double-digit kills. But the Spartans didn’t roll over the Wildcats the same way they had pounded their four previous opponents.
“We didn’t come out and dominate right from the beginning like we had in the past four games,” sophomore setter Nikki Colson said.
Colson finished the match with 10 digs to go along with her 57 assists.
Despite inconsistent opportunities to get the middles involved on offense, the Spartans did get solid attacking from their outside hitters.
Schram led the way for the Spartans with 19 kills, and junior outside hitter Kyla Smith continued her hot streak with 15 kills and a team-high .387 hitting percentage.
Hartley finished with 15 kills and 10 digs for the Spartans.
“We didn’t play as consistent tonight as we did as in the last four games,” Erbe said. “Thank goodness our outside hitters carried us.
“Tonight was a win, but it wasn’t pretty.”
