MADISON, Wis. -- Facing one of its toughest opponents of the season, the No. 3 Wisconsin volleyball team proved its high ranking, downing No. 6 Ohio State, 3-1, Friday night at the Field House. The Badgers (16-1, 8-1 B1G) defeated the Buckeyes (16-3, 6-3 B1G) 26-24, 25-22, 18-25, 25-14. 

The first set was a battle with 13 tie scores. Wisconsin served for set point after Devyn Robinson and Anna Smrek combined for a block, bringing up UW's first set point at 24-23. Ohio State got a lucky break with a Badger service error, tying it back up 24-24. A kill from Dana Rettke gave the Badgers their second set point at 25-24 before Sydney Hilley hammered down an OSU overpass to give Wisconsin the win. 

In the second set, Ohio State went on a 5-0 run to take a 10-4 lead. The Buckeyes maintained a six-point lead through 14-8 before a 7-0 run gave UW a 15-14 lead. A three-point streak, led by Izzy Ashburn behind the service line, put Wisconsin up 21-19. OSU rallied to tie the set at 22 but three-straight Badger points gave Wisconsin a 2-0 lead in the match. 

A relentless Buckeye team took the third set by storm, 25-18, making it only the eighth set dropped by the Badgers all season. Ohio State led 11-3 as Wisconsin's passing broke down. The Badgers were able to cut the Buckeye lead to three, 18-15, but could not get any closer. 

Wisconsin stormed back in the fourth set, taking an 8-3 lead behind a Hilley and Rettke block. A 3-0 Ohio State run cut a 12-5 Badger lead to 12-8 but Wisconsin  cruised through the rest of the set, finishing off a tough match. 

Defensively, the Badgers recorded a school record for blocks in four sets, racking up 19, compared to Ohio State's six stuffs. Robinson and Loberg each had double digit blocks, with 10 apiece, career highs for both. Lauren Barnes led the team in digs, with 10, followed closely by Hilley and Julia Orzol each with nine. 

As a team, the Badgers hit .239 (50 kills - 18 errors - 134 attempts) while holding the Buckeyes to .164 (56-32-146), their lowest of the season. Rettke and Orzol both recorded double-digits kills, Rettke with 16 and Orzol with 13. Rettke led the team, hitting .577 (16-1-26) followed by Jade Demps at .545 (6-0-11).

Behind the service line, the Badgers tallied one more service ace than the Buckeyes, 6-5. Barnes and Ashburn led the team with two each. 

Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
"I thought it was a heck of a college volleyball match and I thought both teams were battling like crazy. Ohio State's middles were really good and we knew they would be. They get on the ball real quick and Mac (Podraza) does a good job feeding them. With (Emily) Londot hitting zero, that doesn't happen too often and then they go to the bench and (Jenaisya Moore) after three sets is hitting like 471, which was fantastic. 

"I thought we did a good job on (Moore) to get that hitting percentage down a little bit there in the fourth. We made some really good adjustments-that's a lot of blocks. It's something these guys have worked very hard at. For a left side blocker to get 10 blocks, that doesn't happen too many times but you know a lot of different positives to come out and build on and we got another match tomorrow."

Outside Hitter Grace Loberg
"I've worked a ton on blocking. A terrible habit of mine in past years was just reaching past the block and they would just hit right by me or tool me every time. That's something I've put a lot of work into ... knowing that even if I'm not getting the blocks, setting up good blocks for our middles to close, is just as important. I think we've worked a lot on it as a team and I think it's really improving."

Middle Blocker Dana Rettke
"Ohio State's a great team. They're super gritty and a really good team and that's the type of team we're going to be seeing in the postseason. I thought we just battled really hard against them tonight."

Notes to Know

• The Badgers tallied a season-high and school-record 19 blocks in the match.The record is for a four-set match under 25-point rally scoring. The total bests the previous mark of 18.5 blocks vs. American on Sept. 20, 2008.
• Wisconsin held Ohio State to a season-low .164 hitting percentage, only the second time season the Buckeyes have hit below .200.
• UW upped its school-record home match winning streak to 29 matches. The Badgers have also won 22 straight Big Ten matches in the Field House.
• The Badgers recorded its second-lowest hitting percentage of the season at .239.
• UW dropped the third set against the Buckeyes, just the eighth set it has lost this year.
• Fifth-year senior Grace Loberg recorded a career-high 10 blocks to share match-high honors, just missing a double-double as she added nine kills. Sophomore Devyn Robinson also recorded a career-high 10 blocks.
• Junior Izzy Ashburn shared the team lead with two service aces, her eighth-straight match with at least one service ace.
• Fifth-year senior Giorgia Civita returned to the Badgers lineup after missing six matches due to a knee injury. The 5-foot-6 defensive specialist finished with two digs and passed all 10 service receptions without an error. 

Up Next: 

The Badgers host 12th-ranked Penn State Saturday night at the UW Field House. First serve is at 6 p.m. and broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.