WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Big Ten Conference race got tighter on Sunday after the third-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team lost in four sets to No. 12 Purdue. The Badgers (18-2, 10-2 B1G) dropped just their second match of the season, losing to the Boilermakers (16-5, 8-4) 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 28-26. 

The loss snaps Wisconsin's nine-match winning streak. 

Wisconsin could not stop the powerful Purdue offense that jumped out to early leads in every set. The Boilermakers are the frst team to hit over .200 against the Badgers this season, hitting .219 (62 kills - 22 errors - 183 attacks). Meanwhile, Wisconsin was held to .197 (59-25-173), its second-lowest hitting percentage of the season.

Grace Loberg led the Badgers with 15 kills, one of four players with double-digit kills. She was followed by Jade Demps (13), Julia Orzoł (11) and Devyn Robinson (10). Dana Rettke hit a team-best .474 (9-4-19). Sydney Hilley added 49 assists an recorded her third-straight double-double, adding 16 digs.

Purdue out blocked the Badgers, 16-7. Demps and Robinson both recorded a team-high four blocks. 

Lauren Barnes had a career high 33 digs, helping Wisconsin get the edge in digs, 86-79. Izzy Ashburn added 10 saves for UW.

Behind the service line, the Badgers were not able to score a single ace while the Boilermakers were able to sneak in four but recorded 11 service errors.

Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
"We did a poor job of a lot of different things. I didn't think we were putting any service pressure out of the gate. As the match went on, we got the ball into much better space. We did a poor job of communicating. We got back in because they started hitting the ball out of bounds. We started playing hard. Jade (Demps) came in and did a lot of positive things for us. Grace (Loberg) did a great job. Julia (Orzol) had a tough time offensively but held the fort down in the back with her passing. 

"What was hard was how we ended it. You're going to get beat if you're not executing. We executed during our last match and today we did not. 

"We still have to get better. There's a lot of good things (over the past four matches]) It was tough with Giorgia (Civita) going down. This is a gritty team and in the locker room they're ticked off. They felt like there were some opportunities here. Welcome to the Big Ten. They need a couple days off right now. We've played a lot of volleyball over the past eight days. We'll take the time and get ready to hit the road again next week."

Notes to Know

• Purdue is the first team to hit over .200 against the Badgers this season, connecting on .219%.

• The Badgers failed to score a service ace for the first time this season.  

• Fifth-year senior Lauren Barnes recorded a career-high 33 digs, her 10th-straight match with 10-plus digs and her third straight with 20-plus saves.

• Graduate student Sydney Hilley picked up her third-straight double-double and 43rd of her careeer with 49 assists and 16 digs.

• Sophomore Jade Demps recorded a career-high four blocks and took a career-high 33 attack attempts.

Up Next

The Badgers stay on the road for their next two matches. UW travels to Evanston, Illinois, to take on Northwestern on Friday. First serve is at 7 p.m. from Welsh-Ryan Arena and will be streamed on B1G+. The weekend continues on Saturday with a match at Iowa. The Badgers and Hawkeyes face off at 7 p.m. from Xtreme Arena in Coralville, Iowa, on B1G+.