MADISON, Wis. – No. 12 Penn State suffered a 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 31-29) loss to No. 8 Wisconsin while playing on the road in a Big Ten women's volleyball match Friday night at the UW Field House. The Nittany Lions dropped to 12-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten, while the Badgers upped their record to 8-4, 2-1 B1G.
Kashauna Williams had a big night with 17 kills on .419 hitting, but Penn State hit .136 as a team. The Lions were much better in the third set, hitting .255.
Penn State nearly stayed alive with a great effort in the third set. The Lions trailed 18-14 before going on a 6-0 run, including five points with Mandi Marioka at the service line. She had back-to-back aces to tie the set at 18-18 before the Lions scored two more points on a ball-handling by Wisconsin and a kill by Williams.
The Lions made another run late in the third set, staving off three straight set points while trailing 24-21. Williams had two kills during that run. The Lions went on to have three chances at set point thanks to a kill by Alexa Markley that gave them a 27-26 lead and a pair of kills by Holland that made it 28-27 and 29-28. The Badgers scored three straight points to close the match, scoring on a service error, an ace by Izzy Ashburn, and a kill by Devyn Robinson.
Ashburn gave Penn State troubles with her serve all night. She had all five of Wisconsin's aces, giving her 15 on the season. The Lions countered with four aces, getting one apiece from Maddy Bilinovic and Gillian Grimes in addition to the two from Morioka.
Holland and Zoe Weatherington had eight kills apiece for Penn State, hitting .286 and .278, respectively. Seleisa Elisaia recorded a double-double with 33 assists and 10 digs. Bilinovic matched her with 10 digs of her own.
Bilinovic has reached double-digit digs in 12 of the team's 14 matches this season.
Robinson was the top player statistically for Wisconsin, hitting .524 with 12 kills. Sarah Franklin had 12 kills and 12 digs while hitting .321.
Penn State is back in action on Sunday as it hosts Michigan State at Rec Hall. The match is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will stream on B1G+. The Spartans are 10-4 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten following a 3-2 win over Maryland on Friday night.
