Box Score 
MADISON, Wis. - After winning the first set, the Wisconsin volleyball team faltered, falling to Notre Dame at the Notre Dame/adidas Invitational on Friday night. The Badgers fell to the Fighting Irish 15-25, 25-18, 25-16, 25-18.
'"I was really pleased with the way we started the first set ' we were solid, we were serving tough, we kept Notre Dame on their heels and out of their offense, '" said UW coach Pete Waite. '"But after the first set, I think Notre Dame reversed that ' they were serving tougher, which caused us to struggle with our serve receive and our offense."'
Senior Brittney Dolgner led the UW (3-4) with 13 kills while Kirby Toon added nine kills. Wisconsin put down 46 kills and hit .195 compared to 54 kills and a .353 hitting percentage for the Fighting Irish. Senior Serinity Phillips and sophomore Kristen Dealy tallied 38 of Notre Dame's kills as both hammered down 19 attacks.
'"They had some kids that played a lot better than we had seen in the stats and on tape the last couple of weeks,"' said Waite. '"They were hitting some shots we weren't quite prepared for and weren't able to adjust to." '
The Irish (4-3) had 10 team blocks, led by six from Phillips, while Wisconsin totaled five team blocks. Toon led the Badgers with three blocks.
Toon was also the UW''s leader with a career-best 10 digs as the Badgers had 43 saves. Notre Dame had 45 digs led by Dealy with 13 saves.
Wisconsin scored on seven service aces behind senior Caity DuPont's career-high four aces. Sophomore Elle Ohlander tied her career best with two service aces.
Wisconsin led 8-7 in the first set before going on a 9-0 run behind the service of DuPont. DuPont had three service aces and was aided by two kills by Dolgner and Ohlander. The Badgers hit .485 for the set, tallying 19 team kills compared to only eight kills for the Fighting Irish.
'"Notre Dame is a real veteran team,"' said Waite. "'They had been trying some younger players but after the first set, they put their veterans back in. They had five seniors on the court at times. They made some good adjustments and played what was probably their best match of the season."'
UW struggled with its serve receive in the second set, hitting just .083 for the period. Wisconsin fell behind 9-5 and never pulled within three points the rest of the set. Notre Dame hit .367 for the set and scored on four blocks and two service aces.
The third set was tied at nine before the Fighting Irish went on a 9-2 run to take an 18-11 lead. Phillips had six kills to lead the run. The Badgers held off three set points before a kill from Dealy put Notre Dame up two sets to one.
The Irish broke a 5-5 tie in the fourth set, scoring five-straight points to take a 10-5 lead. Wisconsin pulled within three (20-17) off a DuPont service ace but Notre Dame would score five of the last six points to take the match.
'"We have to learn from this,'" said Waite. '"We'll watch tape of ourselves from this match ' try to learn how to improve our play for tomorrow night's match against New Mexico State because we know they're a very good team."'
