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Wisconsin Volleyball: Badgers enjoy a big weekend at home

By Christian Borman

Apr 22, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; The Wisconsin Badgers celebrate a point against the Texas Longhorns in the first set at CHI Health Center Arena and Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 22, 2021; Omaha, Nebraska, USA; The Wisconsin Badgers celebrate a point against the Texas Longhorns in the first set at CHI Health Center Arena and Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports /
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The no. 2 Wisconsin volleyball team is having a great start to the 2021 season so far. Entering the weekend, they were 4-0 entering the weekend with a big matchup ahead of them.

On Friday night, the Badgers hosted Kentucky, the no. 8 team in the country, and the defending NCAA champs. This was a highly-anticipated matchup for the Badgers early in their schedule.

In the first two sets, the Wisconsin volleyball team absolutely dominated. They won 25-17 in the first set, and 25-11 in the second set, giving them a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Kentucky looked absolutely lost in the second set.

I thought for sure this was going to be a quick night with the Badgers sweeping the Wildcats, but Kentucky came back strong in the third set. In a back-and-forth match, the Wildcats defeated the Badgers 28-26 in extra points.

The fourth set was a lot of the same. It was back-and-forth and a game of runs. At one point, the Wisconsin volleyball team was down 18-14 before coming back on a 5-1 run to tie it at 19-19. This set also went into extra points before the Baders finally prevailed on a Dana Rettke kill, giving the Badgers a 3-1 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.

Dana Rettke led the team in kills, tallying 16 total. Sophomore Devyn Robinson was close behind with 14 kills. Both had 4 blocks as well. Sydney Hilley had 44 assists during the match.

Next, on Sunday, the Badgers hosted in-state rival Marquette, who was coming into the match with a 6-1 record.

The Badgers made quick work of Marquette, sweeping the Golden Eagles 25-15, 25-18, and 25-18.

Outside hitter Jade Demps led the team in kills with 14. Rettke and Robinson weren’t far behind with 8 and 7, respectively. Hilley added in 35 assists during the match as well.

The Wisconsin volleyball team now sits at 6-0 and will head to DeKalb, Illinois next weekend to take on Green Bay on Friday and Northern Illinois on Saturday before they kick off their conference schedule on September 24th against Maryland.