The changes in the lineup for the University of Wisconsin volleyball team look to be permanent. For the second time in as many matches, the Badgers swept an opponent at the Duke Classic. Wisconsin downed the host Blue Devils, 30-19, 30-15, 30-15. The Badgers improve to 6-2 for the season and finished second in the tournament at 2-1. Duke falls to 8-3, going 0-3 in the tournament.

“After a really rough start against Santa Barbara, we made some changes in the lineup,” UW coach Pete Waite said. “We made some positioning changes and the team responded really well. By the last two matches of the tournament, we were playing at a really high level.”

The Badgers dominated the Blue Devils from the start with their strong defense. Wisconsin recorded eight blocks, including seven from Amy Hultgren, while Duke had four blocks. The Badgers also outdug the Blue Devils 56-37 led by a career-high 11 from Beth Haberli. Erin Byrd dug 10 Duke attacks.

“The stats we showed against Duke, keeping them in such a low hitting percentage, are what we’ve been known for in past years. Our strong blocking and great defense, that’s what really can frustrate an opponent,” said Waite. “Combine that with our tough serving, we kept [Duke] out of their offense most of the night and they never really played with any confidence. We played with intensity the entire match.”

The Badgers had nine service aces, including five from Morgan Shields, and only seven service errors. Wisconsin was aced only twice.

The UW also dominated offensively, recording 57 kills and a .402 hitting percentage. For the second match in a row, Lori Rittenhouse led the team in kills, putting down 13 attacks. Hultgren and Zukowski added 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Shields recorded a career-best .800 attack percentage with eight kills on 10 attempts and no errors. She also added 39 assists in running the Badger offense.

“Putting Rittenhouse on the right really solidified our blocking against our opponents top hitters,” explained Waite. “Also bringing Lauren Ford in to the middle blocking position gave us a bigger block and a more aggressive and higher attack on offense. The combination of those two really paid off.”

Duke never challenged Wisconsin, except early in the second and third games.

Behind the play of Rittenhouse, the Badgers stretched their 11-9 lead in game two to 15-10 behind two kills and two blocks from the senior. In game three, Wisconsin broke a 7-7 tie to take a 14-10 lead behind three kills from Byrd.

“[Lori] Rittenhouse really stood out all weekend,” Waite said. “No matter what position she played, she did everything she asked and her intensity just raised the team’s intensity up to its highest notch. We’re really happy that she’s taken that leadership role with the team.” -compiled from staff reports