Five things to know: Badgers compete for national championship

Saturday, December 21

PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

#3 Stanford

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Badgers advance to National Championship

Five things to know: Badgers compete for national championship

December 20, 2019 | Volleyball

Wisconsin takes on Stanford for NCAA title Saturday

No. 4 Wisconsin

27-6

No. 3 Stanford

29-4

Game Coverage

Saturday, Dec. 21 | 7 p.m. CT | PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, Pa.

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MADISON, Wis. – The No. 4 Badgers (27-6) advance to their third NCAA Championship match, taking on third-seeded Stanford (29-4). The national championship match will be held on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT from PPG Paints Arena, televised by ESPN2.

1. GOING FOR GOLD: Wisconsin improved to 3-0 in national semifinal matches after downing No. 1 Baylor, 3-1, on Thursday night, improving to 2-1 against top-ranked teams in the NCAA tournament. The Badgers defeated No. 2 USC, 3-1, in 2000 and top-ranked Texas, 3-1, in 2013 in national semifinals. The Badgers fell in the national championship match the first two times they advanced, losing to No. 1 Nebraska, 3-2, in 2000, and second-seeded Penn State, 3-1, in 2013.

2. 15-1: UW lost its first set in NCAA tournament play this season, falling to the Bears, 27-25, in the first set on Thursday. Wisconsin is now 15-1 in set play in the championship.

3. DEFENSIVE FORCE: Senior Tiffany Clark was a defensive force against Baylor on Thursday, recording a match-high 18 digs. The 5-foot-11 libero has upped her UW total to 1,298 digs, which moves her into ninth on the career record list. Clark has 1,537 digs in her four seasons, which ranks 49th among active NCAA players.

4. COUNTING DOWN TO 500 BLOCKS: Junior Dana Rettke led all players with eight blocks against Baylor on Thursday night, moving her into eighth on the UW career list with 494 blocks. The 6-foot-8 middle blocker will become the seventh Badger and 50th Big Ten athlete to hit 500 career blocks.

5. BLOCKING DOMINANCE: Wisconsin outblocked Baylor 14.5 - 10 on Thursday to continue its blocking dominance in NCAA tournament play. The Badgers have outblocked all five opponents, averaging 3.53 blocks per set in NCAA play with three players averaging 1.0-or-more blocks per set. Junior Dana Rettke (2.00), senior Madison Duello (1.56), and redshirt sophomore Danielle Hart (1.50) lead the team.