IOWA CITY, Iowa — The fourth-ranked Badger volleyball team finished their two-week road trip with a sweep of Iowa on Saturday night. Wisconsin (20-2, 12-2 B1G) downed the Hawkeyes (4-20, 2-12) 25-16, 25-23, 25-20. 

The Badgers recorded their second highest hitting percentage against Big Ten opponents this season at .396 (49 kills - 9 errors - 101 attempts) while Iowa hit an opponent season-high .288 (44-14-104). 

In the first set, the Badgers gained an early lead, going up 15-8 on an 8-2 run. The Wisconsin lead was too much for the Hawkeyes to handle, as it cruised to a 25-16 win. Dana Rettke was on fire with six kills in the set while Grace Loberg added five kills. 

Set two was much tighter with 11 ties and five lead changes. Tied 9-9, the Badgers went on a 4-1 run to take a 13-10 lead off of a block by Rettke and Sydney Hilley. UW extended its advantage to 17-12 before the Hawkeyes were able to chip away and take a 22-21 lead. Kills from Loberg and Rettke gave the Badgers a 23-22 lead before an Iowa service error and an ace from Joslyn Boyer finished the set and gave Wisconsin a 2-0 lead.

Iowa continued its strong play in the third set, taking a 7-4 lead. A 4-1 run by Wisconsin tied up the set at 8-8. The Badgers were able to get ahead behind the force of three service aces, one each for Lauren Barnes, Julia Orzoł, and Izzy Ashburn. Paired with kills by Rettke, Jade Demps and Devyn Robinson, Wisconsin went up 18-13. The Hawkeyes chipped away, closing the gap to 20-19 but Wisconsin with two straight points to lead 22-19. Iowa scored one more point before a Rettke kill and an ace by Demps, that the Badgers successfully challenged after it was initially called out gave Wisconsin the sweep

Defensively, the Badgers out-blocked the Hawkeyes 8-4, with Rettke tallying five total stuffs. Iowa took the edge in digs, 32-30. Hilley recorded a team-best seven digs. 

Behind the service line, Wisconsin's four aces, coming from four different players, gave them the upper hand to the Hawkeye's two aces. 

Rettke was one of two Badgers to score double-digit kills, recording 14 and hitting .600 (14-2-20). Loberg was the other, adding 10 kills. Robinson led the team in hitting percentage, hitting .900 (9-0-10) during the match.

Hilley put up 35 assists running the Badger offense. 

Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
"I thought we passed the ball really really well. (Our) offense was awfully good. Our block was a little off tonight but I thought it was a really good weekend for Jade (Demps). I think we probably scored more points off of her behind the service line than anyone else… She went back there with confidence and that was the key to that. 

"I thought Dana (Rettke) had a really good presence about there. I thought she was great tonight in all aspects of her game. She was really good. She had a lot of gas in the tank after not getting a lot of sets last night. She was driving and the connection was on. 

"We're excited about going home. We've been on the road six out of the last eight last matches. That can be a grind. We have Purdue next and we know just how good they are. I'm hoping the Field House is as loud as it has been the last couple years. We're fired up. It'll be a good game. It was a great weekend for Badger sports. Hockey team tore it up, football team, I think they're still scoring right now. It was a really great weekend for Badger sports."

Notes to Know

• Iowa is only the second team to hit over .200 against the Badgers on the season, hitting an opponent season-high .288.
• Junior Joslyn Boyer recorded just the third kill of her career and the second of the season.
• Sophomore Devyn Robinson just missed her career best in hitting, connecting on .900 percent (9 kills - 0 errors - 10 attempts). The middle blocker also recorded the first assist of her career.
• Sophomore Jade Demps tied her career best with one assist. 
• Freshman Lauren Jardine tied her career high with one block.
• Wisconsin hit .396 against the Hawkeyes, its highest hitting percentage since hitting .391 at Rutgers on Sept. 25.
• The Badgers recorded a season-low 30 digs.

Up Next
The Badgers finally return home and host Purdue on Friday at the UW Field House for a revenge match. First serve is at 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on the Big Ten Network. The weekend continues on Sunday with a match vs. Northwestern at 1 p.m.