MADISON, Wis. – No. 5 Penn State looked strong early, but No. 13 Wisconsin took over down the stretch as the Badgers beat the Lions 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-13) in a matchup of nationally-ranked Big Ten volleyball teams Wednesday night at the UW Field House.
Penn State fell to 9-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten, while Wisconsin improved to 7-4 overall and 3-0 in the conference. The Badgers beat a nationally-ranked Big Ten opponent for the second time in three matches.
Grace Loberg powered Wisconsin to the win, finishing with 21 kills and a .486 hitting percentage. Dana Rettke did a little bit of everything as she tallied 14 kills on .323 hitting, six total blocks, and five digs. The Badgers hit .310 as a team.
Kaitlyn Hord had 10 kills on .562 hitting, posting her fourth match of the season with at least a .500 hitting percentage. Jonni Parker and Allyson Cathey joined her in double-figures with 15 and 10 kills, respectively.
Gabby Blossom registered her fourth double-double of the season with 37 assists and 10 digs. Kendall White had 15 digs, while Keeton Holcomb and Jenna Hampton added six apiece.
Parker led the way in set one as the Lions hung on for the 25-23 win. They led 25-21 before Wisconsin scored back-to-back points, the second of which came on an ace that hit the top of the net and just got over. Cathey put it away on the next point with a kill.
Parker had zero kills on her first five attacks in the first set but tallied six on her next seven attacks. White was all over the floor in the set, recording seven digs and a pair of assists.
Penn State looked poised to go up 2-0 in front of a raucous crowd on the road as it took a 17-12 lead in set two. Wisconsin rallied, scoring seven of the next eight points to take a 19-18 lead. The Lions refocused and scored three of the next four points, capped by a kill from Parker and a block by Parker and Hord to go up 21-20. That was their last lead of the set.
Wisconsin needed just two chances to close out set two. Amanda Phegley, who made her season debut, combined with Hord on a block to bring Penn State within one, 24-23, but the Badgers scored the next point on a kill by Loberg.
It was all Wisconsin in the final two sets as the Badgers handed the Lions their two most lopsided defeats of the season.
Penn State returns to Rec Hall for a match against Iowa on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Hawkeyes are 7-7 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten after a 3-0 loss to Illinois and a 3-1 loss to Minnesota.