No. 3 Badgers use balanced effort to sweep Paladins

Eleven players registered kills for the Badgers as they started 2024 off with a three-set sweep (25-14, 25-10, 25-12) over the visiting RMC Paladins on Saturday, Jan. 6 at Bob Davis Gymnasium.  

Third-year right side hitter Sadie Dick finished with a game-high eight points, all off kills, while fourth-year middle Meera Sayal had seven of her own. Fifth-year setter Sara Rohr dished out 24 assists in two sets of play and tied for a team-high three service aces with Madison Tuck. Senior libero Aleiah Torres delivered a game-high 11 digs. 

Brock stormed out to a 5-1 lead and an emphatic kill from Foest extended the Badgers’ lead to six at 11-5. With the score at 15-6, the Paladins called their first timeout. The Badgers finished with 17 kills as they took the set 25-14.  

A Foest ace and multiple RMC errors allowed the Badgers to gain momentum early, taking a 4-0 advantage. Foest’s five kills in the set and a strong serving run from junior outside hitter Laurin Ainsworth kept the pressure on the Paladins as the Badgers cruised to a 25-10 victory in the second.  

Tuck helped the Badgers storm out to a 9-3 run as the second-year outside hitter delivered two service aces, forcing an RMC timeout. A second timeout was called at 17-5 as Brock held a stranglehold on the third set. The timeout did not stop the Brock momentum as they swept the Paladins on Saturday night.  The last two sets saw the Badgers hit at an impressive .577 and .560 as a team.

Up next, the Badgers (8-1) travel to North Bay to play the Nipissing Lakers (3-5) on Friday, Jan. 12. First serve is at 6 p.m. and can be seen on OUA.tv.