Wisconsin drops match to No. 1 Penn State

Friday, November 24

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

19-9, 10-9

#1 Penn State

28-1, 18-1

Penn State

Wisconsin

Photo by: Greg Anderson

Wisconsin drops match to No. 1 Penn State

November 24, 2017 | Volleyball

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Badgers fall to top team in four sets

Box Score

MADISON, Wis. – An explosive first set wasn't enough to push the 11th-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team past No. 1 Penn State Friday night at the UW Field House. Penn State prevailed in four sets 18-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-20.

Senior Kelli Bates recorded her 30th career double-double thanks to 12 digs and 11 kills to lead the Badgers. Freshman Dana Rettke hit a team-high 13 kills with fellow freshman Grace Loberg adding another eight kills in just two sets.

Wisconsin (19-9 overall, 10-9 Big Ten) hit .158 (50 kills – 28 errors – 139 attempts) for the match while Penn State hit .265 (53-18-132).

Setter Sydney Hilley put up 47 assists while running the UW offense. She also added five digs and two blocks

PSU (28-1, 18-1) out blocked the Badgers 12.5 - 7. Rettke earned a team-high four stuffs.

In the backcourt, three Badgers notched double-figure digs consisting of Bates (12), Lauryn Gillis (11) and Tiffany Clark (10). The Nittany Lions earned a 53-51 advantage in digs.

Notable

Wisconsin held Penn State to a .265 attack percentage, its seventh lowest hitting percentage of the season, and well below its season average of .355.
Senior Kelli Bates recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 11 kills and 12 digs. It was her 30^th career double-double, which ranks 10^th on the UW all-time list.
Freshman Grace Loberg came off the bench to record eight kills in just two sets. That is one off her career best of nine kills set at Kansas State on Sept. 2.
Freshman Dana Rettke led Wisconsin with 13 kills, her 15^th time leading the team this season and her 21^st double-digit kill performance.
Sophomore Madison Duello had four digs in the match to surpass 100 career saves.
Freshmen Sydney Hilley and Dana Rettke played in their 100^th career sets tonight.
Junior Tionna Williams had three blocks in the match to record 400 career stops.

Loberg lets it rip

This girl has some MAJOR power ?? pic.twitter.com/xUnCqT1Qez
— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) November 25, 2017

Quotable

"There were elements that we played well. We just didn't play well enough to beat these guys. I loved the effort we were playing with defensively. I thought we executed the game plan for the most part.

"This team's getting closer. I think that's one of the things that if you listen to (the players) right now, they feel like we're getting closer. You have to remember, this is a pretty young team. I don't sense a single person losing confidence in themselves. I see feistiness up here. I see hunger and drive. That's one of the things we discussed downstairs, that there were positives to take away from that game and let that build you up. Everything else is learning. Let's keep learning."
-Head coach Kelly Sheffield

"I thought the first time we played (Penn State), we stuck with them even though we weren't playing very well at all. This time we had to fight and I thought that we played a lot better this time. I think we keep making those steps, and that's going to help us towards the tournament getting some momentum. I thought we battled really hard tonight."
-Freshman Sydney Hilley

Up next

The Badgers conclude Big Ten Conference play tomorrow night taking on Rutgers in the UW Field House. The match starts at 7 p.m. and seniors Lauryn Gillis and Kelli Bates will be honored after the match.

The 64-team bracket for the 2017 NCAA Tournament will be announced Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPNU. The Badgers are looking for their fifth straight and 19^th overall tournament appearance.