5 thoughts from Wisconsin volleyball's sweep over Illinois

Here's what stood out from another Badgers home victory.

Freshman outside hitter Madison Quest spikes a ball against Illinois players during Thursday’s three-set sweep at the Field House. Credit: Jake Kocorowski

MADISON, Wis. — A long run early by the University of Wisconsin volleyball team set the tone for the rest of the evening.

Illinois actually countered a brief Wisconsin run with one of its own and led 15-14 midway through the first set. But after a timeout, the Badgers hit a barrage of 11 consecutive points to cruise in the opening frame.

Wisconsin (10-1, 3-0 Big Ten) eventually rolled to a three-set sweep over Illinois (7-5, 2-1) on Thursday at the Field House.

“I think it’s just us coming together, and the person behind the service line doing their job, getting them out of system,” sophomore setter Charlie Fuerbringer said. “And we knew what that team was doing. We scouted well, and we just did our jobs.

“We stayed steady, as Kelly (Sheffield) said, and played very mature. Just super balanced throughout the whole match.”

Here are five thoughts from Wisconsin’s win.