MADISON, Wis. -- In a dominant sweep of Howard University, the third-seeded Wisconsin volleyball team opened NCAA tournament play with a 25-11, 25-18, 25-10 win over the Bison on Thursday night at the UW Field House.

"We just played our game," UW head coach Kelly Sheffield said. "I thought our passers did a really good job of first contact and we just went from there. Good match."

Wisconsin's offense fired at .402 percent (51 kills - 12 errors - 97 attempts) for its fourth-highest hitting percentage of the season while the defense held Howard to a .050 attack percentage (24-19-101) through three sets.

The Badgers outblocked the Bison 8-6 and out dug HU 49-32.

Freshman Molly Haggerty paced all players with 16 kills, while senior Haleigh Nelson and junior Lauryn Gillis added 11 kills apiece.

Senior Lauren Carlini put up 41 assists, adding 10 digs for her 73rd career double-double.

"I think we did a great job right away," Haggerty said, "coming in strong with passing and getting it to Lauren (Carlini) so we could get our middles involved and we did a great job focusing throughout the whole match."

Junior Kelli Bates saved a match-high 14 digs in addition to two service aces. Haggerty and freshman M.E. Dodge each recorded seven digs, while Nelson added six.

Nelson contributed seven blocks on the night, while Gillis stuffed three blocks. Redshirt senior Romana Kriskova added two blocks and four kills.

Wisconsin rolled to a 7-4 advantage in the first set at the first Howard timeout, widening the gap to 12-4 to force another break for the Bison. Howard responded to take four of the next eight points, but the Badgers outscored HU 9-3 to finish out the set, 25-11, on a Carlini ace.

The Bison hit .200 percent in set two, their highest of the match, but were unable to outlast the Badger hitters and dropped the set, 25-18. Howard began the frame with a 5-3 lead, but UW rebounded to tie the set at 10. A point-for-point battle ensued, where Howard was able to stay within two points of Wisconsin (20-18) until the Badger offense erupted and scored five unanswered points to secure the 2-0 set lead.

Wisconsin finished off the sweep with force, never allowing the Bison to score two consecutive points in the final period. The Badgers surged to a 12-4 lead, later capitalizing on Bison errors for a 20-7 advantage. Howard was able to steal three points in hopes of a late rally, but the Badgers went 3-0 to end the set, 25-10, and earn the first-round sweep.

"Once we settled down a little bit and played our game, I thought we played great," Sheffield said. "I don't think there's a whole lot to be frustrated about. 

"But you have a quick turnaround to get yourself ready for the next opponent. The coaches will do their homework tonight. We'll have film sessions tomorrow, and we'll try to get locked in on a really, really good Washington State team. They're very physical, one of the best blocking teams in the country, very good attacking, and a serving team that reminds me of us."

The Badgers return to the UW Field House on Friday, facing Washington State in the second round of the tournament. The Cougars were a 3-1 win over Marquette in the other first-round match on Thursday. The 6 p.m. match will air live on the Big Ten Network.