4 thoughts from Wisconsin volleyball's win vs. Milwaukee
The Badgers easily swept the Panthers thanks to dominating in multiple areas.
MADISON, Wis. — Grace Egan’s power has not only been seen in the velocity of her spikes early on in her time with the University of Wisconsin volleyball program.
Egan, who transferred from Ohio State, helped reel off six consecutive points while serving in the first set against Milwaukee on Tuesday. That included three aces in a span of four attempts that allowed No. 6 Wisconsin (4-1) to assert itself early during a sweep of Milwaukee (0-6) inside the Field House.
“Going back there, I just want to keep my focus every time, make the other team work for it,” Egan said. “And just like a relentless, just always going for it, always leading my toss.
“I have a routine every single time I talk to myself. Take a breath and just let it rip.”
Egan finished with five aces, eight kills, five digs and four blocks.
“I think we all saw Grace set the tone for this match behind the service line,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “And just going out there and doing what she does and working the ball around the court, not trying to do too much.”
Here are three other thoughts from Wisconsin’s win.
Wisconsin completely dominated Milwaukee in every facet of the match
The Badgers only needed 71 minutes to tame the Panthers, hitting .457 to the Milwaukee’s -.014 in the match. Wisconsin also held overwhelming advantages in service aces (10 to 1), kills (45 to 14), digs (42 to 27) and assists (42 to 14).
If you’re wanna get nitpicky, the Badgers had 10 service errors compared to the Panthers’ five.
Wisconsin’s middle blockers clog the net
The other key area of domination for Wisconsin came in team blocks (11-3). Senior Carter Booth led the way with eight blocks, while Baylor transfer Alicia Andrew contributed three.
Andrew also tallied eight kills and hit an impressive .800 on the evening, and though Sheffield said she’s jumped to “a totally different level” during match play, he’s not surprised by her offensive output.
“She loves to compete,” Sheffield said. “She doesn't panic out there on the court. She cleans up any overpasses. Makes herself available. Hits with range, stuff blocks. It's fun to watch. She's a great player.”
Mimi Colyer continues strong start to season
There’s really not much more to say about the All-American who transferred from Oregon. Colyer finished with a game-high 16 kills and hit .600 during the match against Milwaukee.
She now leads the team with 80 kills through five matches and is averaging five kills per set.