Madison, WI – A tough schedule got the most of the fourth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team at their own HotelRED Invitational. After falling in five sets to No. 11 Marquette on Thursday, the Badgers dropped a four-set match to No. 17 Baylor on Friday night in the UW Field House.

After a promising 25-21 first set win for the Badgers, the Bears took the final three sets 25-22, 27-25, 25-17, on the back of Yossiana Pressley's match-high 31 kills. The senior outside hitter was the only player in double-figure kills for Baylor.

Wisconsin continued its theme of heavy front-line defense, totaling 14 blocks to Baylor's eight, but the Bears' offense was too much to handle. BU hit .285 (65 kills – 22 errors – 151 attempts) compared to .215 (51-20-144) for the Badgers, finishing with a plus-14 edge in kills.

Three Badgers finished with double-digit kills, led by Molly Haggerty with 16. Grace Loberg added 14 kills and Dana Rettke put away 11 attacks. Tiffany Clark shared match-high honors with 18 digs but UW trailed the Bears in that category too, 63-56.

Junior captain Sydney Hilley was a bright spot for the Badgers, finishing with a double-double – 40 assists and 15 digs – as well as a career-high seven blocks. Freshman Izzy Ashburn scored three service aces for Wisconsin as UW edged Baylor 7-6 in aces with both teams recording six service errors.
 

Maximum effort 😤

A thrilling first set volley goes to the #Badgers! 😳#OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/kAUYabFH36

— Wisconsin Volleyball (@BadgerVB) September 7, 2019

 

Notes to Know

• Junior Sydney Hilley recorded her first double-double of the season and the 25^th of her career with 40 assists and 15 digs. The 6-foot setter also recorded a career-high seven blocks.
• Junior Nicole Shanahan earned her first start of the season, putting away a career-best three kills. She also added five blocks and one dig.
• Senior Tiffany Clark shared match-high honors with 18 digs, going over 900 career digs at Wisconsin. The 5-foot-11 libero has 909 digs as a Badger.
• Freshman Izzy Ashburn led all players with three service aces to up her season total to a team-best eight scores. She has scored at least one service ace in three of four matches this season.

Straight from the Court

"We didn't play well enough to win the match, but it's why we schedule these types of matches here. We lost to two really good teams and we've got to get better. There's no doubt about it.

"You don't hit the panic button. I think our team knows that it's a good team. It's a long season. I think people are probably a little bit bummed tonight, I'm sure they absolutely are, but you get back to work." – Head Coach Kelly Sheffield

"It's good that this happened early in the season. Now we know where our weaknesses are and now we can grind on them in practice. I'm excited for the opportunity we have next week to play." – Tiffany Clark

Up Next

The Wisconsin Badgers will travel to Clemson, S.C. next week for matches on Friday and Saturday against South Carolina and hosts Clemson at the Clemson Invitational.