CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It was a match that Badger volleyball fans expected. No. 5 Wisconsin would open its season with a win and junior
Dana Rettke would be the star of the match.
That's exactly what happened as UW opened the season with a 25-15, 25-22, 25-23 win over Florida State at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Carmichael Arena.
And Rettke, a two-time first-team All-American, finished with a match-high 17 kills while hitting .417 (17 kills – 2 errors – 36 attempts). The 6-foot-8 middle blocker also had a team-high two service aces, serving a stretch of nine-straight points in the second set. Redshirt junior
Molly Haggerty added 12 kills for Wisconsin.
The Badgers dominated the Seminoles in nearly every statistical category. Wisconsin hit .244 (47-17-123) as a team compared to .144 (31-16-104) for FSU. UW outblocked the Seminoles 9-8, behind a career-high seven stuffs from redshirt sophomore
Danielle Hart. Junior
Sydney Hilley tied her career best with six blocks and also put up 37 assists, running the Badger offense.
The Badgers finished with a 49-45 advantage in digs as junior transfer
Lauren Barnes had a match-high 14 saves. Freshman
Izzy Ashburn added 10 digs in her first action as a Badger.
Straight from the court
"I thought we were locked in the entire match. When we were going on runs, I didn't think we were trying to get too cute or anything, we were just trying to play good volleyball. And when they got going there in the second half of the match and they were getting on their runs, I thought we stayed present and tried to work through some things.
"(
Dana Rettke) has been pretty frustrated with her serve. We got into serve and pass today, and I think she started to figure some things out. She was going on long serving runs and you could tell that she was starting to get her swagger back behind the service line."
– Head Coach
Kelly Sheffield
Notes to know
- Redshirt sophomore Danielle Hart led all players with a career-high seven blocks. Junior Sydney Hilley tied her career best with six blocks.
- Wisconsin improves to 32-14 in season openers and 10-1 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
- Head coach Kelly Sheffield won his 161st match at Wisconsin, moving him into a tie for second on the all-time winningest coaches in program history.
Up Next
Wisconsin wraps up the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Saturday, facing North Carolina at 5:30 p.m. CT.
