Madison, Wis. - On Saturday night, the No. 20 Spartan volleyball team ran into the only Big Ten team it hadn‘t topped this season - Wisconsin.
And unfortunately for MSU, the No. 6 Badgers are still the conference team to beat.
The Badgers (27-3) rolled past the Spartans (21-8) 3-0, eliminating MSU from the NCAA Tournament in the second round.
The Badgers sweep came with scores of 30-21, 30-22, 30-24.
All-Big Ten first team member and Badger middle blocker Sherisa Livingston finished the night with match-highs in kills (15) and total blocks (7).
Serving and passing errors plagued the Spartans the entire evening, as they managed only an .112 hitting percentage and committed 11 service errors and 12 serve-return errors.
Junior outside hitter Kyla Smith finished the night with a team-high nine kills, and senior outside hitter Erin Hartley finished with a Spartan-best 10 digs.
The Badgers got a boost from its defense in the opening rallies of game one against the Spartans.
Four Badger blocks, three by Livingston, got Wisconsin a quick 5-1 lead.
The Spartans battled back to within three at 13-10 on a kill from sophomore middle blocker Jenny Rood.
But following a service error by junior defensive specialist Emily Engel, the Badgers got an ace from outside hitter Erin Byrd and a point on a freshman outside hitter Kim Schram attack error to take a 16-10 lead.
The six-point cushion only ballooned as an ace by Big Ten Player of the Year and Badger setter Lizzy Fitzgerald gave Wisconsin the early advantage and a 30-21 game one win.
Wisconsin‘s momentum continued into the second game, as it used an 11-2 start to eventually down the Spartans 30-22.
The Badgers finished off the Spartans 30-24 in game three after fighting back from an early deficit.
Fitzgerald‘s service ace tied the game up at 5-5 and began a 3-0 run, separating the Badgers and the Spartans for the final time.
The Spartans got as close as four at 21-17 on a Rood kill, but couldn‘t overcome the deficit on the road.
Hartley finished her Spartan career with eight kills, and Rood added seven kills in the losing effort.
