Badgers finish season as NCAA runners up

Saturday, December 21

PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

27-7

#3 Stanford

30-4

Wisconsin

Stanford

The Badgers huddle up on the court during the national championship match.

Photo by: Tom Lynn

Badgers finish season as NCAA runners up

December 21, 2019 | Volleyball

Box Score Boxscore vs Stanford

Wisconsin wraps up one of the most successful seasons in program history

PITTSBURGH – What could have been a dream season for the Wisconsin volleyball team came to an end in the NCAA National Championship on Saturday night. The fourth-seeded Badgers (27-7) were swept by No. 3 Stanford, 25-16, 25-17, 25-20, at the PPG Paints Arena. The Cardinal win their ninth national title, including three in the last four years.

Stanford (30-4) held Wisconsin to a season-low hitting percentage of .152 (31 kills – 14 errors – 112 attempts) while the Cardinal hit .358 (50-12-106), only the third team to hit better than .300 against UW this season.

Junior Molly Haggerty led the Badgers with 10 kills but was the only UW player to hit double figures. Junior Dana Rettke added seven kills and redshirt sophomore Danielle Hart added six kills.

Wisconsin scored on four service aces – one apiece from Haggerty, Izzy Ashburn, Lauren Barnes and Sydney Hilley – while the Cardinal scored two aces.

Stanford outblocked the Badgers 7-3 with Hart leading UW with two stops while the Cardinal also finished with a 57-39 edge in digs. Hilley led Wisconsin with 11 digs while adding 25 assists for her 10^th double-double of the season. Senior Tiffany Clark added 10 digs.

Straight from the court

"We got them out of system a lot in serving. I thought the serving numbers that we put up were really good. I mean, they were really struggling with it and it didn't matter. We haven't had too many teams that have beaten us in our transition game, and they were able to do that.

"But I'm proud of our team and I'm proud of the players here to my right and the ones back here in the locker room. There wasn't any quit. There wasn't any quit out there. And that's been their character all season long, the journey they've traveled. We just ran up against a team that is unbelievable. And it's a little bit humbling, but it's a credit to them."

Head coach Kelly Sheffield

"It's hard to think about right now because it just happened and that's so far away. But I think it's going to drive us every day. We're not going to forget this feeling for a long time. And I think that will be something that motivates us every day in practice, just to work a little harder to close that gap between them and know we can get back here. We've just got to keep working hard."

Junior Sydney Hilley

Notes to Know

Wisconsin falls to 0-3 in national championship matches.
The Badgers end their season 27-7, winning their sixth Big Ten Championship with an 18-2 record.
Juniors Molly Haggerty and Dana Rettke were named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team.
Five Badgers wrapped up their careers in the national match. Seniors Tiffany Clark, Mallory Dixon, Sarah Dodd, M.E. Dodge and Madison Duello complete their eligibility with one of the most successful seasons in program history.