MADISON, Wis. -- The second-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team remains undefeated on the season after sweeping Dayton for the second straight night. The Badgers (4-0) downed the Flyers 25-16, 25-14, 25-20.
The first set started off with points being equal through 12-all tie. A service ace Izzy Ashburn kicked off a 13-4 run by the Badgers to give Wisconsin the set win. Sophomore Jade Demps was impressive in the period, putting away four kills on five attempts with no errors.
Wisconsin started off strong during the second set, quickly putting points on the board and led 10-4 after two Dayton errors. Joslyn Boyer and Ashburn recorded three more service aces, putting the Badgers up 21-9. A kill from freshman Anna Smrek gave UW set point at 24-13. Dayton held off one set point before a Flyer service error gave the Badgers a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Badger defense came alive during the third set, holding Dayton to a .053 (12 kills - 10 errors - 38 attempts) hitting percentage as a team, despite remaining within two points of Wisconsin much of the period. UW led 20-18 before a Flyer service error and kill by Devyn Robinson put Wisconsin up 22-18. Robinson and Danielle Hart both recorded kills to give UW match point at 24-20 before a block from Hart and Sydney Hilley ended the match.
Wisconsin hit 344 (39-7-93) in the match while holding the Flyers to .120 (37-24-108). The Badgers outblocked Dayton 9-0 behind six stuffs from Hilley.
Dana Rettke led the team, hitting .750, sharing match-high honors with nine kills on 12 attempts with no errors. Demps hit .389 with seven kills on 18 attempts and was also error free. Robinson and Grace Loberg both chipped in six kills while Hart (5) and freshman Anna Smrek (4) also contributed to the offense.
Defensively, Lauren Barnes led the team with 13 digs, followed by Hilley and Ashburn with nine apiece.
Behind the service line, the team recorded five aces, three by Ashburn and two from Boyer. The Flyers only had one service ace as a team.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield
"I thought we did a lot better job tonight of playing the entire match. Last night I didn't think that was necessarily the case. I thought both teams played with a lot of energy, a lot of effort and played very hard. There were some really good rallies for both sides and I thought both teams played with a lot of toughness and that is fun. It's fun to play in those types of matches when everyone is getting into it.
"I thought Jade (Demps) had a really nice match. She can be a big part of our team which is what you want to see. She is a young player who is going through her career and they get bigger presence as they keep going.
"I thought we were a little more resilient after errors, not hanging our heads. When you are playing really good teams you have to be great at staying in the moment, at being present and if you are thinking about what just happened or something else other than what is in front of you, you're going to be toast with the really good teams. That was something we did a lot better job of today."
Middle Blocker Dana Rettke
"After last night I think we all knew there were points that we left out on the court and that is never a way we want to end a match and walk off the floor. We want to make sure our effort is 100% the whole match and I just don't think that was the case last night. Going into tonight, I think we all had a good mindset of what we needed to do and make the adjustments that we needed to make and I thought overall the team responded really well. I think there are always points to be had so I think that is what we are going to dial in on for the rest of the season.
Outside hitter Jade Demps
"Coach called me out a little bit last night and said, 'Man your presence wasn't there.' I took a lot of time yesterday and today thinking about that what that meant I needed to do and what my team needed from me. I basically just went with the attitude that I'm going to leave it all on the court and I'm just going to go as hard as I can."
Up Next
The No. 2 Badgers take on No. 3 Kentucky at the UW Field House on Friday. First serve is at 8 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.
