COLUMBUS, Ohio – The seventh-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team had a solid outing against Ohio State Friday night to open up a four-game road stretch. The Badgers swept the Buckeyes, 25-10, 25-14, 25-23, to hand OSU its ninth-straight loss.
Wisconsin (19-6 overall, 11-5 B1G) came out firing on all cylinders in the first two sets. Sophomore
Dana Rettke tallied eight kills in the first set alone as the Badgers outscored Ohio State (12-17, 3-14) 50-24. The Buckeyes came out strong after the intermission and were leading the Badgers for most of the third set until a key 4-0 UW scoring run late in the frame gave Wisconsin enough momentum to secure the sweep.
The UW offense was red hot, hitting .432 (51 kills – 10 errors – 95 attempts) for the match. Rettke led all players with 17 kills while senior
Tionna Williams and redshirt junior
Madison Duello each added nine kills. Williams was unstoppable, hitting .750 on the night. The Badgers held OSU to a hitting percentage of .134 (27-14-97).
Defensively, Wisconsin held a huge 47-28 advantage in the backcourt thanks to 10 digs by sophomore
Sydney Hilley and nine digs apiece from juniors
Tiffany Clark and
M.E. Dodge. Hilley also notched 45 assists for her third-straight double-double.
Ohio State led the Badgers in both blocks (7-4) and service aces (4-2).
Notes to know
- Libero Tiffany Clark recorded her 1000th career dig in tonight's match.
- Dana Rettke led all players with 17 kills, her 15th straight match with 10-or-more kills.
- Wisconsin's .432 hitting percentage is its second-best mark of the season. The Badgers have hit over .300 10 times this year.
Straight from the court
"Tiff is a lot. She gives us energy and toughness and fight and spirit and ball control and defensive tenacity. She makes everybody stand up tall. She expects the best out of everybody around her, me included. That is a big number so I'm really happy and proud of her."
-Head coach Kelly Sheffield
Up next
The Badgers are back in action tomorrow night in College Park, Maryland. They take on the Terps at 6 p.m. (CT).
