The MSU volleyball team didn't get the magic it was hoping for on the road this weekend.

Instead, Northwestern and nationally-ranked Wisconsin appeared to have borrowed Harry Potter's broom as both teams swept the Spartans.

The Spartans' hopes of making it to the NCAA Tournament vanished as they dropped both matches on the road, giving them 11 losses in their last 14 matches.

The Spartans (12-16 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) were hoping to win the remainder of their last four games but unfortunately it won't be happening this season.

This might seem like deja vu.. Last season, the Spartans ended the season on a three-game losing streak.

Now history seems to be repeating itself.

Coming into the weekend, the Spartans were looking to carry over the momentum of a win over Indiana (9-21, 2-16) last Saturday.

But Northwestern (18-10, 9-9) took control early.

In the first set, the Wildcats jumped out to an early 5-2 lead and managed to out-block the Spartans, 7-4.

But the Spartans wouldn't back down.

Contesting every ball coming over the net, the Spartans would take an 11-10 lead in the second game — its first lead of the game.

Senior middle blocker Megan Wallin had several key kills in the second set that would help the team.

However, that wouldn't be enough to get past the Wildcats' smothering defense. An ace by the Wildcats' Lindsay Anderson would spark Northwestern to make a run of their own. The Spartans would lose the second set 30-21 as the Wildcats took a commanding 2-0 lead.

The Wildcats squeaked by with a 31-29 win in the third game to capture the sweep.

Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Schatzle would end the match with 15 kills to lead the Spartans, while freshman defensive specialist Melany Rarey added 10 digs.

On Saturday against No. 15 Wisconsin, MSU found itself facing the same dilemma.

In a must-win game to help keep their Big Ten Tournament hopes alive, the Spartans couldn't find a spark.

The Badgers (21-6, 13-5) had a dominating performance from start to finish.

In the opening set, the Badgers had a .406 hitting percent compared to MSU's .068, allowing them to take the lead.

The Spartans hung close in the second and third sets, but were defeated narrowly each time, 30-28 in the second and 32-30 in the third.

Sophomore defensive specialist Nicole Colaluca led the Spartans with 15 digs on Saturday. It was her 28th consecutive match with double-digit digs.

MSU will be back at Jenison Field House this weekend when it takes on nationally-ranked Penn State and Ohio State to close out the Big Ten season.