The Wisconsin volleyball team took down the defending national champion Kentucky Wildcats in four sets Friday night in Madison.
The top 10 matchup featured the No. 2 Badgers and No. 8 Wildcats in front of a packed UW Field House.
The Badgers came out red hot, taking the first and second sets 25-17 and 25-11. Kentucky fought back, earning a tough 28-26 set three victory to avoid a UW sweep. The fourth set was just as close, with both teams going on mini-runs throughout. Wisconsin rallied for a 24-20 lead, but Kentucky battled back to tie the set 24-24. Wisconsin went on to score the final two points, winning the set 26-24 to take the match.
Dana Rettke led Wisconsin with 16 kills and four blocks while hitting an impressive .583 on the night. Devyn Robinson added 14 kills and four blocks for the Badgers. UW hit .316 as a team. Madi Skinner paced Kentucky with 16 kills.
The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the No. 8 ranked Kentucky Wildcats to stay perfect on the season. @BadgerVB pic.twitter.com/ACiNVedj2N
— Wisconsin On BTN (@WisconsinOnBTN) September 11, 2021
The Wildcats won the 2020 NCAA championship in April at the end of the unprecedented 2020-2021 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the title game was held in April 2021 instead of December 2020. Kentucky beat Texas in the championship game to claim the national title. The Longhorns advanced to the title match to face UK after downing top seeded Wisconsin in the Final Four round.
Kentucky returned several key players to their roster this season from their championship team. The Badgers were not intimidated, taking care of business and earning a statement win over the defending champs.
The Wisconsin volleyball team, now 5-0 on the season, will travel to Milwaukee to take on Marquette Sunday afternoon in the always exciting I-94 rivalry match.
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