MADISON, Wis. - For the ninth straight season, the Wisconsin volleyball team is Sweet 16 bound. The Badgers (27-3) advanced after sweeping Florida Gulf Coast, 25-17, 25-20, 25-15 on Saturday night in the UW Field House.  

The Badger outside hitting duo of Grace Loberg and Julia Orzol carried the team on offense, combining for 27 kills on 42 attacks with only three errors for a .571 hitting percentage. Individually, Loberg led all players with 15 kills, hitting .542 (15 kills - 2 errors - 24 attempts) while Orzol hit .611 with 12 kills on 18 attempts and only one error. 

As a team, Wisconsin hit a season-best .455 (49-9-88) while holding the Eagles to .184 (33-14-103). The Badgers finished with 16 more kills and 19 more digs as their backcourt ended with a 46-27 advantage in saves. For the second-straight match, Lauren Barnes led all players with 18 digs. Orzol just missed a double-double with nine digs.

Sydney Hilley ran the Badger offense to near perfection, putting up 40 assists while adding six digs. She was just one of two Badgers, joining Orzol, who recorded a service ace in the match. Both teams tallied just two aces in the match.

FGCU edged the Badgers 6.0 - 5.5 in blocks as Devyn Robinson led Wisconsin with four stuffs. Orzol contributed three blocks.

Behind the play of Loberg, Wisconsin jumped out to an 11-7 lead in the first set as the outside hitter was a near perfect 5-0-6 in hitting. The Badgers extended their lead to 19-13 as the left-side hitting duo combined for a .687 hitting percentage (12-1-16) while the team as a whole hit .361 (18-5-36) in the first period.

Orzoł started the second set right with her first service ace of the match. While the offense was on track, FGCU was out-blocking the Badgers 3-1 midway through the second set. Wisconsin was nearly doubling up the Eagles, 27-16 in digs and 25-15 in kills to lead 14-9. The Badgers served for set point at 24-17 but Florida Golf Coast held off three sets before a service error by the Eagles put UW up 2-0 in the match.

The third set was the strongest for the Badgers both offensively and defensively, hitting .560 (16-2-25) and recording 3.5 blocks. A 5-0 run to put Wisconsin up 10-5, putting the Badgers in the driver's seat the rest of the way.

Straight from the Court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
"I thought both teams really came out from the beginning and played well defensively. The effort on both sides of the net was really, really impressive. Florida Gulf Coast, what a fantastic season. It wasn't a team where we get into our season and we're so locked into our own conference and there isn't a lot of time to watch teams from other conferences. That is one of the things that is really fun about the NCAA tournament, you get to dive into some of these other leagues. The more that we watched Florida Gulf Coast, the more impressed that I was. It is just a bunch of ballers that can play the game and can play the game well. They are well-coached.

"We played well tonight, the scores would make you think a little different. That was a really good team. We had to be on top of our game and I thought we were pretty close it. The three people up here (Hilley, Loberg and Orzol) tonight were fantastic. I thought our left sides collectively, thunder and lightning, that was maybe their best match together as a duo. I thought they were awfully good. I thought Syd was masterful out there setting. It was just a good effort for out team."

Setter Sydney Hilley
"From the beginning we could tell they were really scrappy, really good defensive team. I think it is all credit to my passers who were able to put me in really good positions to have a balanced offense. When we're able to be really balanced I think we are really hard to defend. So that is all credit to the passers and then the hitters hitting the right shots."

Outside Hitter Grace Loberg
"For me and our team collectively, we are just trying to stay in the present and not think about the last point, set, kill, or error. We are just trying to focus on the current point that we are on and I think we have been doing a really good job with that. I think that is going to continue to help us out during this post season."

Outside Hitter Julia Orzol 
"I think we played great individually and everybody made a huge effort. At this level, individual game isn't enough. The way the team worked together was something that made a difference."

Notes to Know

• The Badgers swept the Eagles in just 75 minutes, their third-quickest match of the season. 
• Wisconsin is advancing to the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight season. This will be their 16th overall appearance.
• Led by Julia Orzol and Grace Loberg, Wisconsin recorded their highest hitting percentage of the season at .455 (49 kills - 9 errors - 88 attempts). They beat their previous season record of .425 (45 - 7 - 87) against Green Bay back in September. 
• Senior outside hitter Grace Loberg tied her season-high with 15 kills and set a new season-high hitting percentage of .542 (15-2-24). 
• Tonight marked Lauren Barnes' eighth straight match with double-figure digs. The graduate libero is averaging an impressive 6.0 digs per set in NCAA play. 

Up Next: 
Wisconsin competes in the NCAA regional semifinals on Thursday against the winner of tonight's UCLA vs. UCF match. Times will be announced on Sunday afternoon.