The Wisconsin women's volleyball team (4-12 Big Ten, 15-12 overall) suffered two tough losses this weekend on the road. Wisconsin fell to No. 8 Penn State (13-3 Big Ten, 23-4 overall) in three sets Friday and Ohio State (8-8 Big Ten, 20-9 overall) in a close five set match Sunday.
The first set was the closest for Wisconsin Friday night, with runs by each team during the set. The late 5-1 run for the Badgers pushed the score 23-16, but red-shirt senior middle hitter Blair Brown had a defining kill to get the Nittany Lions to set point. Freshman defensive specialist/outside hitter Annemarie Hickey led the Badgers on a 3-0 run as PSU was at their set point. Brown had another kill which won the match, as the Badgers weren't quite able to close it out. Hickey led the Badgers with six kills in the match, while Sophomore right-side hitter Bailey Reshel and sophomore middle blocker Mary Ording weren't far behind with five a piece.
The second set started out with the Badgers having a 6-3 lead, but they couldn't quite hold on as the Nittany Lions pulled out to a 21-15 lead. Despite a kill from Hickey, Penn State was able to go on a late run to win the set 25-16. The score again remained tight in the third set until Penn State pulled ahead and had a 19-10 lead. The Badgers fell to the Nittany Lions 25-12 in the last set.
The big difference between the teams was the number of kills and blocks per team. Penn State out-hit and out-blocked Wisconsin 46-28 and 12-1, respectively. The Nittany Lions also had three players record double-digit kills on the night.
The match against Ohio State was much closer on Sunday, as the Badgers lost a heart-breaking five set match, with the last set ending 19-17. Sophomore middle blocker Alexis Mitchell stepped it up, as she recorded a career-high 21 kills and an impressive .500 hitting percentage throughout the match. Freshman right side hitter Julie Mikaelsen recorded 10 kills, while Hickey made her career-high four aces. The Badgers also improved their blocking numbers, putting up a total 10.5 blocks.
Wisconsin was led by Reshel in the first set, as she sparked two runs, and got the Badgers to a 24-18 set point. Ohio State came back to win two points, but senior outside hitter Allison Wack finished off the set with a kill. Wack recorded 16 kills on the night.
The second set started off close, but the Buckeyes found themselves ahead 20-14 late in the set. Mitchell started a 7-2 run for the Badgers with three kills to get them within one point, 22-21. Wisconsin couldn't quite close off the set, as senior outside hitter Katie Dull finished the set off with a kill to give the Buckeyes a 25-22 win. Dull led Ohio State with 24 kills and eight blocks.
The third set was tied at 6-6 when the Buckeyes went two runs to get up 15-9. The Badgers weren't going down without a fight, as they got the score tied up once again at 22-22. The two teams went back and forth, and at 26-26 freshman outside hitter Elise Walch had a big kill to get to another set point. The Badgers won 28-26. The Buckeyes started off the fourth set with a 15-11 lead. Wisconsin came back to tie the set at 21-21, but a 3-0 run led by Dull got the Buckeyes to a set point. Despite the kill from Janelle Gabrielsen, Dull won the set with yet another kill and a 28-26 win.
The fifth set was again a close one, until Ohio State pulled ahead to 14-10. Wisconsin came back once more, with a 4-0 run to bring the score to 14-14. As the score went back and forth until it was 17-17. A block and a kill from the Buckeyes got them the 19-17 win.
The Badgers are back in the UW Fieldhouse this weekend for their final homestand of the season. Wisconsin takes on Minnesota in the border battle match Friday and then Iowa Saturday.
