(UW ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS) MADISON – It may not have been the prettiest match of the season for the top-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team but the Badgers still remained undefeated on the year. Wisconsin swept Rutgers, 25-18, 25-20, 25-16, on Friday evening in the UW Field House.
Fourteen Badgers (5-0, 5-0 B1G) saw action in the match as head coach Kelly Sheffield was looking for the right combination to spark his team.
Wisconsin came out flat, allowing the Scarlet Knights (1-4, 1-4) to jump out to a 5-0 lead in the first set. Behind the service of Molly Haggerty, UW scored seven straight points to take a 7-5 lead. Despite hitting .480 (13 kills – 1 error – 25 attempts) and outblocking Rutgers, 4-0, in the set, the Badgers struggled to pull away until midway through the period.
The Badgers led the entire second set but UW’s hitting percentage dropped to .241 (13-6-29) as it won by five points.
In the third set, Rutgers again jumped out to the lead, this time 3-0, before the Badgers rallied again behind the service of Haggerty. The outside hitter tallied two of her match-high three service aces to put Wisconsin up 9-5.
Wisconsin hit .293 (36-12-82) for the match, its first time below .300 this season, while holding Rutgers to .144 (34-20-97). Seven Badgers put away two-or-more kills as Haggerty led the team with eight kills. Danielle Hart added seven kills and Dana Rettke put away six attacks while hitting a match-high .545 (6-0-11). Devyn Robinson (5), Grace Loberg (4), Jade Demps (3) and Sydney Hilley (2) also scored for UW. Rutgers was led by Kamila Cieslik with a match-high 10 kills.
The Badgers outblocked Rutgers 11.5 – 4.0 behind seven blocks from Rettke. Robinson chipped in four stuffs. Wisconsin also finished with a 33-30 edge in digs behind a match-high 13 saves from Lauren Barnes.
The biggest improvement tonight from the Badgers was at the service line where they had a season-high nine aces. In addition to Haggerty with three scores, Izzy Ashburn tallied three aces and Barnes added two aces.
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