“We were able to put a lot of pressure in from the service line tonight, but weren’t able to capitalize on opportunities,” head coach Kristen Kelsay said. “When we would get what we wanted, we weren’t able to capitalize on those and kill that ball in transition or get the block or the touch that we needed. So that was, I think, the frustrating part — that we’d get the situation we wanted, but then we weren’t able to capitalize on it.”

The match opened with a service error from setter Malayah Long, a sign of the issues to come. MSU struggled to find clean touches in serve-receive and in attack, piling up errors both at the service line and at the net.

Evie Doezema’s early kill tied the set 3–3, and the Spartans managed to hang around until the 10-point mark, but inconsistent net play and repeated miscommunication opened the door for Wisconsin to push ahead.

MSU burned timeouts trailing 13–10 and again at 21–16, unable to settle into rhythm. Despite a determined push from Zuzzana Kulig, the Spartans dropped the set 25–17.

“From a scouting standpoint, we were not hitting our serves and we were not executing offensively," Kelsay said. "We blocked seven balls in the first set, and I didn’t think those balls came from us going for it but from us just being a little nervous, honestly — and that’s not a space we’ve lived in much this season.”

MSU looked steadier to open the second, pulling even at 3–3 behind a sharper swing from junior hitter Karolina Staniszewska. An attack error by Wisconsin gave MSU an 11–8 lead — one of its strongest bursts of the day.

“We were getting what we wanted for the first transition,” said Kelsay. “Then as the rally went on and we kept giving them more opportunities, they were going to find ways to score. And so I think that’s where I was disappointed — it took us too long to execute, and you saw that in the set, from a blocking-defense and overall game-situation standpoint.”

But the Badgers quickly recovered with fast-tempo kills through the middle, erasing the gap to 12–12. The Spartans’ biggest problem became their tendency to “just lob the ball over” instead of hitting assertively, giving Wisconsin easy transition opportunities.

Though the set stayed tight at 19–19, MSU called two timeouts one point apart, signaling mounting hesitation. Wisconsin capitalized, closing the set 25–21.

“It was the first time in those first two sets that I saw a little trepidation, and we haven’t had that all year.” Kelsay said, “And so trying to get to the root of that, but also encouraging them with their response — which you saw in the third set.”

Michigan State opened the third with the fire they’d been searching for all afternoon. A 5–1 run showcased their best defensive effort of the match, anchored by Schneider’s reads and Long’s connection with her hitters. Staniszewska and freshman Bianca Mumcular delivered back-to-back kills that pushed the lead to 11–7.

The Spartans’ errors — which had plagued them earlier — nearly disappeared, and they held a 15–11 edge before Wisconsin started to chip back. After the Badgers closed to 20–19, Taylah Holdem delivered a momentum-saving kill to make it 22–19, forcing a Wisconsin timeout.

But Wisconsin clawed back yet again. The set became a point to point marathon: 24–24, 25–25, 26–26. Staniszewska and Holdem kept MSU alive with clutch kills, but the Badgers’ veteran composure and offensive firepower prevailed, stealing the set 28–26 and sealing the match.

After a disappointing loss, the Spartans hope to recover for University of Michigan on Sunday as they start their series of road games. 

“Yeah, we go on the road for three in a row here and five matches left, guaranteed, which is exciting,” Kelsay said. “And also a race with time, right? We still have a lot of work to do. And how quickly can we teach? How quickly can we improve? And that’s what I told them. I was like, we’re going to watch the film tonight, and we have our scout ready. So, at the end of the day, they are going to come in tomorrow ready to improve.”