The MSU volleyball team suffered losses to two ranked teams this past weekend — 3-0 to No. 12 Minnesota on Friday and 3-1 to No. 10 Wisconsin on Saturday.
Saturday's loss brings the Spartans' record to 15-9 overall, 6-8 Big Ten. After Saturday, Wisconsin holds an 11-3 conference record.
The Badgers won the first set, taking a strong lead at 23-14 midway through the first set. The Spartans attempted to put together a solid run but were plagued by errors, allowing Wisconsin to take the set, 30-20.
The Spartans jumped out to a 15-7 lead midway through the second set. The Badgers were able to pull the contest within six at 27-21, but a kill from freshman middle blocker Vanessa King allowed the Spartans to take the set, 30-23.
The Spartans took a 13-10 lead early in the third set, but the Badgers were able to score 12 of the next 15 points to take a 22-16 lead. After attack errors by the Spartans, Wisconsin won the set, 30-21.
The Badgers took the lead early in the fourth game and held on the whole time, first at 15-13 and then pushing the margin to 10, at 26-16. Wisconsin won the set, 30-22.
The Spartans ended the night with 64 kills and a .241 attack percentage to Wisconsin's 66 kills and .362 attack percentage. Junior outside hitter Ashley Schatzle led the team with 22 kills, followed by junior outside hitter Katie Johnson's 17 and King's 11. Senior setter Allison Ianni added 53 assists while senior libero Nicole Colaluca contributed 17 digs.
Despite the loss, head coach Cathy George was pleased with her team in its performance against the only team to have beaten No. 3 Penn State, she said.
"We dealt with some adversity," George said. "It was a real sign of experience and maturity."
But when it came to improvements, George and the players said the Spartans must improve on serves.
"We need to be tougher servers," Ianni said. "We just have to be a tougher serving team."
Schatzle agreed with Ianni and even attributed the win in the second set to strong serving.
"We were serving really tough in game two," Schatzle said. "We were able to pull them out of system. We have to serve tougher, though. It helps out with everything as a team."
