Box Score
| Â | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Â W. Kentucky
| 13 | 25 | 25 | 25 | -- | Â Wisconsin
| 25 | 23 | 19 | 19 | -- | | Â Stats Leaders
| | WKU | Â | WIS | | Cavanaugh - 13 | Kills | Gillis - 14 | | Lucas - 43 | Assists | Carlini - 46 | | Lucas - .500 | Hit %
| Carlini - .455 | | O'Connell - 19 | Digs | Morey - 17 | | Anderson, Engle - 3 | Blocks | Nelson - 6 | | Lucas, Grimes, O'Connell - 1 | Â Aces | Carlini, Bates - 1 | | Â Stats Comparison
| WKU | WIS | | Â Kills | 54 | 57 | | Â Hitting Pct. | .263 | .250 | | Â Assists | 53 | 55 | | Â Service Aces | 3 | 2 | | Â Digs | 58 | 61 | | Â Total Blocks | 5 | 10 | | |
Aug. 28, 2015
MADISON, Wis. --Â The fifth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team fell to Western Kentucky, 13-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 in the Badgers' home opener during the HotelRED Invitational at the UW Field House on Friday night.
Despite a dominant first set, the Badgers couldn't overcome the offensive firepower of WKU. Wisconsin hit .250 (57 kills - 20 errors - 148 total attempts), where as WKU hit .263 (54-18-137).
|  Fast Facts | | • Bates recorded a double-double, adding 10 digs | | • Senior Taylor Morey led UW with 19 digs while freshman Amber MacDonald added a career-high 11 digs in her first collegiate action. | | • Junior Tori Blake had a career-high eight kills | |
"That's a really good Western Kentucky team," UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. "We knew they would be. We knew they would present us a challenge. Nothing that we saw out of them surprised me at all."
The Badgers started off on a high note, racing to an 11-8 lead in the first set as a service error sparked Wisconsin to a 6-0 run to make it 17-9. A kill by redshirt junior Romana Kriskova forced the WKU timeout at 22-12, but the break couldn't stop the Badgers momentum and sophomore Kelli Bates ended the set with a service ace.
The Lady Toppers came storming back to take the next three sets, thanks to a strong defensive front. The Badgers led 16-10 in the second set, but a kill from senior Noelle Langenkamp spurred the WKU offense as it went on a 9-3 run to tie the set at 19. Western served for set point at 24-21 but back-to-back kills from sophomore Lauryn Gillis and junior Lauren Carlini kept the Badgers alive at 24-23, but one of sophomore Alyssa Cavanaugh's 13 kills for the match ended the set.
In the third set, the Badgers found themselves down at 19-13, but a service ace by Carlini and Bates kill kept UW alive and within three points (19-16). That was as close as Wisconsin would get as a kill by junior Haleigh Nelson held off the first set point at 24-19, but another Cavanaugh kill put the Toppers ahead, 2-1.
Despite six ties in the fourth set, including at 18-18 when a Kriskova kill brought the crowd to its feet, the Lady Toppers outscored the Badgers 7-1 to win the match.
Gillis, a sophomore transfer product out of USC, recorded a match-high 14 kills, followed by Bates with 13. Blake, Nelson and Kriskova each tallied eight kills, which now stands as a new career high for Blake.
Reigning Big Ten Conference Player of the Year Carlini guided the Badger offense with 46 assists.
On defense, the Badgers out-blocked WKU, 10-5, led by Nelson's six blocks. Reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Taylor Morey tallied 17 digs, followed by freshman Amber MacDonald with 11 and Bates with 10 to pick up her first double-double of the season.
"I mean there are always learning opportunities along the way and this is one of them," Carlini said. "It just happens to be our first match, which can be good but also be bad. We just have to look at it as a positive right now, moving forward knowing that we have to better. We have to be more passionate when we play and just be able to put runs together is going to be huge for us. We have to find those opportunities to learn and use tonight as an advantage moving forward."
Wisconsin looks to reclaim its HotelRED Invitational crown on Saturday when it takes on Colgate at noon and College of Charleston at 7 p.m. in the UW Field House.
