MADISON, Wis. — Only six days after beating Illinois, 3-1, in Champaign, the fourth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team completed the season sweep of the Illini (11-6, 3-3 B1G) in the UW Field House Saturday night. Wisconsin (13-1, 5-1) downed Illinois in a defensive battle, 25-27, 25-20, 25-9, 25-15. 

After getting outblocked by Illinois, 7-0, in the first set, the Badgers continued to improve their defense as the match went on. UW outblocked the Illini,10-5, the rest of the match, holding Illinois to an opponent season-low hitting percentage of .056 (32 kills - 25 errors - 125 attempts). Wisconsin was also stymied by the tough Illini defense, recording its second-lowest hitting percentage of the season at .248 (54-20-137).

Three Badgers recorded double digit kills -- Rettke (15), Loberg (13) and Robinson (10). Rettke (15-1-32) and Robinson (10-3-16) both hit .438 to lead the team. 

For the match, Illinois finished with a 12-10 advantage in blocks but Wisconsin edged the Illini 58-55 in digs.

Rettke led the team with eight stuffs while Lauren Barnes was one of three Badgers with 10-plus digs. Julia Orzol added 12 saves and Izzy Ashburn tallied a season-high 10 digs.

Ashburn led all players with four service aces as Wisconsin scored nine times from the service line, holding the Big Ten's top serving team to just four aces.

The Badgers had a six-point lead (17-11) in the first set before Illinois battled back to tie the set at 22. The set was also tied a 23 before a kill by Loberg gave Wisconsin its first set point. The Illini rallied after every UW point before scoring three-straight points to take the first set in extra points, 27-25. 

Wisconsin led 12-5 in the second set before Illinois went on 7-1 run to pull within one, 13-12. That was as close as the Illini would get as a block by Orzol and Rettke keyed a late 4-0 run to even the match at one set apiece. 

The third set was dominated by the Badgers as they held the Fighting Illini to just nine points in the set. As a team, Wisconsin recorded its best hitting percentage of the match, .458 (14-3-24) while holding Illinois to a negative .150 (3-6-20).

The finish line was in sight for the Badgers as they started the fourth set with a bang, otherwise known as a Rettke kill. UW's largest lead of the set came late, 23-12, as a kill by Orzol gave Wisconsin its first match point. The Illini held off two match points before a kill by Robinson sealed the win.

Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
"You play that team and you feel you're going up against a team that just like that can go on a five-or-six point run.  It really doesn't matter what rotation they are in, they are capable of that.

"We just grinded. We battled. We fought. There were some amazing rallies out there by both teams. It was hard to score; it was really, really hard to score out there. A big part of it was because of how they serve and then how they defend. You've got to find that balance of patience and looking to score, and I thought we did a really good job of that."

Middle Blocker Dana Rettke
"I think our serving was great today. I think we were putting a lot of pressure on Illinois - just being super confident behind the line.

"I thought that our block really picked up towards the middle the match. I thought our wing blockers were really disciplined and were not letting a whole lot of points score. That was definitely part of our success there towards the end of the match.

"(Our block) made us able to play really good team defense. It allowed the back row to set up really well around us. We were getting touches and they were able to pick those up really nicely. A really big credit to our defense tonight."

Outside Hitter Grace Loberg on getting 1,000 kills
"None of that would have possible without our amazing back row, our passers, our defenders. Sydney Hilley, she puts up butter for me to hit every time. Volleyball is a complete team sport and a fifth year kind of helped!"

Notes to Know

• With her fourth kill of the match, fifth-year senior Grace Loberg became the 25th Badger to record 1,000 kills in a career. She finished with 13 kills to bring her career total to 1,009.
• Junior Anna MacDonald tied her career high with four digs.
• Sophomore Jade Demps tied her career high with two blocks.
• Freshman Julia Orzol recorded a career-high 12 digs.
• Wisconsin upped its school record home winning streak to 28 matches. The Badgers have also won 21 straight Big Ten matches at home.

Up Next

The Badgers go on the road next weekend, traveling to the state of Michigan for two matches. Wisconsin takes on Michigan State in East Lansing on Friday at 5 p.m. The road trip continues at Michigan on Saturday. First serve is 3:30 p.m. from Ann Arbor. Both matches air live on the Big Ten Network.