MADISON, Wis.— In battle of top-10 teams, the second-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team downed No. 10 Baylor 25-16, 25-7, 16-25, 25-15 in the second round of the Big Ten-Big 12 Challenge at the UW Field House on Saturday night.

Wisconsin (2-0) dominated the Bears (1-1) in the first two sets, winning easily and holding Baylor to a .negative .047 (12 kills - 16 errors - 63 attempts) hitting percentage after two periods. BU made some key substitutions in the third set, coming out with a win and forcing a fourth set. The Badgers rebounded in the fourth set, jumping out to a 9-3 lead and never looking back.

For the match, UW hit .333 (54-12-126) as a team while holding Baylor to a .164 (43-23-122) hitting percentage.

The Badgers put on a balanced offensive display as four players tallied nine-or-more kills. Dana Rettke shared match-high honors with 15 kills while Danielle Hart marked a career high with 13 putaways. Freshman Julia Orzoł contributed a career-high 12 kills while Devyn Robinson was close behind with nine.

Baylor was led by Yossiana Pressley with 15 kills while Lauren Harrison turned up her played in the last two sets to put away 13 kills.

Wisconsin outblocked the Bears 10-8 behind seven blocks from Rettke.

UW edged Baylor, 49-48, in digs as three Badgers tallied double figures. Giorgia Civita had a team-high 13 digs while Lauren Barnes and Sydney Hilley added 11 and 10 saves, respectively. Hilley put up 46 assists at setter for her first double-double of the season.

Civita tied a career-high with three service aces while Barnes added two aces. The Badgers dominated from the service line, finishing with a 7-0 advantage in aces and not giving up a service ace yet this season.

Straight from the court

Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
"I thought we came out with an aggressive mindset early on. I thought we passed really well for most of the match and when you do that you are going to be able to run your offense."

Libero Lauren Barnes on the UW passers:
"I think we're doing a great job, it shows our work has paid off."

Notes to Know

• Wisconsin has won 22 straight matches at home, dating back to the 2019 season. The UW record is 25 consecutive matches won from 1999 through 2001.
• The Badgers opened their fifth-straight season with a perfect 2-0 mark.
• For the second-straight match, the Badgers did not give up a service ace while scoring on seven aces.
• The Bears scored only seven points in the second set, the fewest points allowed by Wisconsin since Rutgers tallied only six points in the first set on Oct. 5, 2016. It was also the fewest points allowed by a ranked team since 25-point rally scoring began in 2008.
• Redshirt senior Danielle Hart put away a career-high 13 kills and led the Badgers with a .591 (13 kills – 0 errors – 22 attempts) hitting percentage.  Hart and fellow middle blocker, Dana Rettke, combined for a .583 (28-0-48) hitting percentage, tallying 52% of UW's kills on the night.
• Grad Giorgia Civita tied her career high with three services, all in the first set.
• Freshman Julia Orzol recorded a career-high in kills for the second-straight match. The 6-foot outside hitter put away 12 kills while tying her career best with three blocks and recording her first career assist.
• Grad Lauren Barnes was one of three Badgers with 10-plus digs in the match, her 10th-straight match with double-figure digs.
• Grad Sydney Hilley picked up her 38th career double-double with 46 assists and 10 digs.

Up Next
Wisconsin looks to continue its strong start when it hosts Dayton on back-to-back nights on Thursday and Friday. UW head coach Kelly Sheffield spent five years coaching the Flyers from 2008-12.