Volleyball team falls to Wisconsin despite Haverly's 1,500th kill

Despite playing a close first set and winning the second set, it wasn’t enough for the IU volleyball team to secure a win.

The Hoosiers fell to Wisconsin 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 25-16, 25-16) on Saturday in Madison, Wis.

In the first set, senior outside hitter Jordan Haverly recorded her 1,500th kill, the fifth Hoosier in program history to reach that tally.

The first set was close until the Badgers pulled ahead by two late in the set and were able to hang on.

The second set belonged to the Hoosiers, who got strong play from everyone on the court, and it showed just how good the team could be, IU Coach Sherry Dunbar said.

“I thought we were really in control of both (the first two) sets,” Dunbar said. “We served really aggressively, and we were able to run our offense really well.”

Things started to fall apart for the Hoosiers in the third set. The team dropped to 8-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten with the loss.

Wisconsin continued its aggressive play and IU didn’t seem to have it as the Badgers cruised through into the fourth set where they finished it out 25-16.

“We just didn’t give ourselves the opportunity to do the things we did in the first two sets,” Dunbar said. “I think they see the glimpses where they do play well — we have to play at that level for a more consistent period of time, especially in this conference.”

On the night Haverly notched her 1,500th career kill, she recorded a total of six kills on the night.

During her time at IU, she has recorded at least 446 kills in each of her other three seasons.

She currently has 116 this season and is averaging 2.76 kills per set, good for second on the team behind junior middle blocker Morgan Leach.

Leach led all players  Saturday with 18 kills.

Senior defender Caitlin Hansen led the Hoosiers with 21 digs, and sophomore setter Katie Gallagher led the team in assists with a season-high 47.

“In the first two sets we just really attacked them,” Leach said. “Wisconsin is a very aggressive team, and they just go for it.”

Sophomore defender Courtney Harnish had 10 digs while playing in all four sets.

“I thought Morgan was really, really good,” Dunbar said. “She carried a lot of weight for us and we relied on her a lot, and I thought she came through consistently over four sets. I thought Caitlin played well. She passed well and she went for her serve more than she has in the past, and she led on the court.”

Dunbar also said she was glad to see Harnish play well.

“Courtney, who hasn’t played a lot for us, has really been earning her way in practice every day,” Dunbar said. “I gave her an opportunity tonight, and she came through and did some really nice things for us.”

Follow reporter Andrew Vailliencourt on Twitter @AndrewVcourt.