OMAHA, Neb. - Despite being pushed in the second set, the No. 1-seed Wisconsin volleyball team swept Weber State in the second round of the NCAA Championship on Thursday evening at the CHI Health Center Convention Center. Wisconsin (16-0) won its first tournament match with a 25-17, 25-19, 25-15 sweep of the Wildcats (19-2) to remain undefeated on the season.
After nearly two weeks since their last match, the Badgers came out strong, jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the first set behind the service of Giorgia Civita and the offensive play of Dana Rettke. Civita served all four points, including one service ace, while Rettke put away two kills. The Wildcats pulled within two (8-6) before Wisconsin went on a 4-0 run to double up the Wildcats and go on to take the first set.
The second set was a different story with 11 early ties, including at 16-16. It wasn't until a kill by Sydney Hilley kicked off a 9-3 Wisconsin run to end the set. Danielle Hart keyed the late rally with three kills and two blocks to put the Badgers up 2-0 in the match.
Momentum helped the Badgers win in the third set as they cruised to a 10-point win. Lauren Barnes dominated behind the service line with two service aces as Wisconsin finished with a 7-2 advantage in aces. Civita and Izzy Ashburn also chipped in two aces in the match.
Stellar performances by Hart and Devyn Robinson led the Badgers at the net. Robinson recorded the best attack percentage on the team, hitting .636 with seven kills and no errors on 11 attempts. Hart tied her season high of nine kills while hitting .533 (9 kills - 1 error - 15 attempts) while Rettke also hit .500 (9-1-16). Five Badgers put away seven-or-more kills as Grace Loberg added nine kills and Molly Haggerty put away eight.
As a team, the Badgers hit .408 ( 45-5-98), marking the third time this season hitting over .400, as Hilley put up 37 assists. Weber State hit .175 (36-16-114) and was led by Rylin Adams with 13 kills.
Wisconsin's defense was nearly unstoppable as it outblocked the Wildcats 11-4 behind a season-high nine blocks from Hart. Robinson added a career-high five stuffs. In the back row, Barnes excelled with a match-high 19 digs.
Straight from the Court
"I think everyone was pretty excited to get started and play. I thought we got stronger as the match went on. That was certainly a goal of ours… there's no question (Weber State) made us work tonight. I was really happy, I thought we were awfully balanced across the board. I thought our passing was real solid and I thought (Lauren) Barnes was really good defensively.
"Danielle (Hart) was pretty frustrated early on in the match. She was getting quite a few negative touches on the block. We didn't get her going a lot offensively early on, but she stayed with it and made adjustments as she was going through. I thought all of our blockers were making adjustments.
"Am I happy we're getting challenged? I don't know, I'd rather kick somebody's butt than have it be really, really close and have to say we got some things out of it. I like how we played. We finished strong and that's something I think more times than not, I think our team has done a pretty good job, when it's close. They weren't flustered."
"It was awesome. It's something we pride ourselves on everyday in practice, our defense and our energy with it. It all starts with the dig, it all starts with the pass, and once we get going everyone gets going and it's fun. We got our blocks back."
"We have absolutely felt that we have been on a mission but that didn't start in the last two weeks. That's been something that started over a year ago and we've just been aiming for that and so focused on that. That's been what we're following this whole time. When you think about this pandemic and the ways we've been shut down, held back, the speed bumps we've had, you have to keep thinking back to that center goal, that dream and we're just chasing that with everything we've got. We're doing it for each other and the person next to us."
Notes to Know
- The Badgers advance to their eighth-straight NCAA Sweet 16 under head coach Kelly Sheffield. Wisconsin will be making its 18th overall regional appearance in 24 tournament appearances.
- UW improves to 52-23 all-time in NCAA tournament appearances with tonight's win.
- Wisconsin improves its undefeated season opening to 16-0, which is the fourth-longest in program history.
- The Badgers continue to dominate opponents offensively, hitting .347 on the season. Wisconsin hit .408 (45 kills – 5 errors – 98 attempts) against Weber State, its third time this season over .400.
- With her final dig in the second set, senior Lauren Barnes picked up career dig No. 1,000. The 5-foot-6 libero finished with a match-high 19 digs to bring her career total to 1,002, including 490 digs at Wisconsin. Barnes has recorded 10-or-more digs in five straight matches.
- Redshirt junior Danielle Hart recorded a season-high nine blocks, marking the first time all season that she has led the team in blocking. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker has upped her season average to 0.96 blocks per set. Hart also tied her season high with nine kills.
- Freshman Devyn Robinson stopped a career-high five blocks.
- Sophomore Anna MacDonald earned her first career assist vs. the Wildcats. The defensive specialist also recorded one dig in the match.
Up Next
The Badgers take on BYU in the NCAA Regional semifinals on Saturday at 7 p.m. from the CHI Health Center Convention Center. The match will be streamed live on ESPN3.
