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2018 FloVolleyball Big Ten Calendar

Big Ten Notebook: Week of Oct. 22

Big Ten Notebook: Week of Oct. 22

Last week, we saw a pair of Top 15 matches—one of which resulted in a major upset—while another program earned its first conference win of the year.

Oct 23, 2018
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There’s never a dull moment in Big Ten women’s volleyball. 

In the past seven days, we saw three matches featuring two top-15 opponents, one of which resulted in a big upset. Also, a team got its first conference victory of the season and a senior middle blocker set a new program block assists record.

Here’s what you missed and what to look out for this week.

Can Anyone Slow Down Minnesota?

Over the weekend, the Gophers stretched their win streak to 11, first, sweeping Iowa, then topping Nebraska in four sets for the second time this year. Nebraska remains the only team to take a set from Minnesota in Big Ten play this season.

At this point in the season, the Gophers have played, and defeated, all but two of the ranked teams in the Big Ten. Coming up this weekend, they’ll face No. 12 Michigan, and on November 10, they’ll take on No. 17 Purdue. Minnesota’s upcoming schedule also features second meetings with No. 7 Wisconsin on October 31 and No. 4 Penn State on November 23.

Illinois Escaped Michigan in 5

In one of last week’s top-20 matchups, Illinois managed a five-set victory over Michigan. Senior middle Ali Bastianelli, usually known for her blocking, set an offensive career high with 19 kills hitting .417. However, true to form, she also added seven blocks and became Illinois’ career block assists leader with 618 in her four years.

On Michigan’s side of the net, setter Mackenzi Welsh hit 1.000 with seven kills on seven attempts. Katarina Glavinic, who filled in for injured right side Sydney Wetterstrom, had nine kills will just one error to hit .348.

Northwestern Gets First B1G Win

Northwestern lost its first eight matches of the conference season. A punishing schedule packed six top-20-ranked teams into those first four weeks, but finally, over the weekend, the Northwestern squad picked up its first league victory, topping Michigan State in straight sets.

With 35 digs and 13 blocks, including a team-high four from setter Britt Bommer, Northwestern held Michigan State to a .032 hitting percentage. Sophomore Nia Robinson led the Wildcats’ offensive efforts with 12 kills, hitting .333. 

“Our serve receive was really good tonight,” freshman outside hitter Ella Grbac said in an interview with The Daily Northwestern. “When you have good serve receive, Britt can get a good set and everything just sort of falls into place.”

Rankings Roundup

Seven Big Ten teams appeared in this week’s AVCA Poll.

See the complete poll here.

Biggest Upset

Nebraska had a 2-1 lead over Wisconsin inside the packed UW Field House, but the Badgers pushed back to score this week’s biggest upset victory.

Nebraska’s .087 hitting percentage is the lowest mark in head coach John Cook’s 19 seasons. A gritty, defensive battle on both sides, Wisconsin also hit a season-low .114. Wisconsin’s 94 digs set a new rally-scoring-era school record for digs in a match.

"That was an unbelievable performance by two teams,” Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield said. “The defense was ridiculous on both sides. I thought we played very, very disciplined in the backcourt. That is something we have worked really hard on ... The mental toughness it takes to be in a match like that, when it is so hard to score, not trying to force things too much, and taking what is given and keep grinding.”

Nebraska Loses Three In A Row

With the losses to Wisconsin and Minnesota this week, Nebraska has lost now three matches in row and four of its last five. It’s the first time since 1997 that Nebraska has gone on a three-match losing streak in the same season. 

Granted, each of those four losses have come to other top-10-ranked teams. For head coach John Cook, the prognosis is inconsistency. 

“We did a lot of good things tonight, we just got to get better, and we got to get better at some key moments,” Cook said in a radio interview. “That’s what we’re missing. We’re making errors at key moments.”

Top Performer

Ali Bastianelli set a new career high and broke a school record in the same match. If anything warrants player of the week honors, that does. 

Bastianelli followed up her record-breaking performance in the Michigan match with 11 kills, hitting .438, and three blocks in Illinois’ sweep of Michigan State.

Biggest Upcoming Matches

Wisconsin @ Michigan | Friday, Oct. 26, 8 PM ET

These two top-20 teams have yet to face each other this season. See Michigan’s heavy pin offense go up against some of the biggest blockers in the conference.

Minnesota @ Michigan | Saturday, Oct. 27, 7 PM ET

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Michigan lost a close one to Illinois last week, but a big upset of Minnesota would completely banish that disappointment. Will the Gophers keep rolling, or will things get even more interesting in the Big Ten standings?

Purdue @ Penn State | Saturday, Oct. 27, 7 PM ET

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Purdue is riding a three-match win streak, and its last loss came at the hands of Penn State. The two teams get another crack at each other this weekend inside PSU’s legendary Rec Hall. 

Illinois @ Nebraska | Saturday, Oct. 27, 7 PM ET

The Fighting Illini travel to Lincoln this week to face Nebraska, which after losing three consecutive matches will be extremely motivated to score a win in front of its home crowd. 

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