Box Score

MADISON, Wis. - Ohio defeated the UW volleyball team on Saturday in the final match of the Inntowner Invitational. The Badgers (1-2) lost in four competitive sets 19-25, 25-21, 29-27 and 25-21 in front of 3,710 fans in the UW Field House.

Although the Badgers failed to earn a victory, head coach Pete Waite said that his team has continued to show improvement.

'"I wish we could have come out and gotten that second and third game," ' Waite said. '"But overall, we saw a lot of good things, a lot of progress over the weekend. Our middles improved every match. Our middles today did great and it is our testament to them, going to them so much. It also shows that our ball handlers are doing their jobs well and improved a ton from last year."'

Wisconsin struggled in the match as the Bobcats bettered UW offensively in kills (62-49), hitting percentage (.261-.181) and assists (56-47). Allison Wack led the Badgers with 16 kills and Janelle Gabrielsen totaled 38 assists and hit .400 to lead Wisconsin.

Gabrielsen earned a spot on the all-tournament team this weekend.

'"I have been working hard on running the 5-1 since last year,"' Gabrielsen said. "'It feels good because I think I''m improving every day and the team is improving every day."'

Jane Systma of the Bobcats (3-0) executed offensively with 12 kills while connecting on .476 percent of her shots. Three additional Ohio players also scored double-digit kills. Tournament MVP Ellen Herman put down a match-high 19 kills, while Sue Jacobi had 12 and Meghan Simons added 10. Michelle Jantsch directed Ohio''s offense by tallying 53 of the team's 56 assists.

The Badgers middle blockers combined for 13 kills and four of the UW''s eight team blocks. Kelsey Maloney had seven kills and three block assists while Elle Ohlander had six kills and three blocks, including one solo.

Despite its offensive difficulties, Wisconsin out-dug Ohio 51-46 and had three players with double-digit digs. Kim Kuzma had a team-high 16 digs, Gabrielsen tallied 14 and Brittney Dolgner added 10. Ohio's Sarah Petrulis totaled a match-high 19 digs.

The first set was neck and neck with both teams constantly exchanging points. With the score tied 18-18, the Badgers began to pull away to win the set 25-19. Errors proved to be a problem for the Bobcats as they committed 10 attack errors and a costly four service errors.

Both teams once again found themselves trading leads in the second set. However, with the score knotted up at 16-16 the Bobcats improved their consistency with a .419 hitting percentage for the set and went on to win 25-21.

Down 22-15 in the third set, the Badgers made an impressive 10-3 run to come back and tie the score 25-25. Ohio then edged out UW in a 29-27 thriller.

Waite said that losing the third set after coming back was tough.

'"We had a shot at it and wished we would have had that one,'" Waite said. '"But we had a chance (in set) four and would have (had a chance) at five. That is something we need to be better at and be tougher about at that point." '

UW controlled the beginning of the fourth set until Ohio tied the score 14-14. From that point onward Ohio maintained control and earned a 25-21 match victory.

According to Waite, playing against a veteran team was an important step for the Badgers.

'"I think a weekend like this helps them start the next week with even more determination to work hard in every aspect of their games individually and as a team, '" Waite said. '"Our goal is to keep getting better each week." '

Wisconsin travels to compete in the Oregon State Invitational next weekend and faces Seattle on Saturday at 8 p.m.