The No. 21 Wisconsin volleyball team received an unwelcome return home this weekend, dropping a pair of matches to Indiana and No. 1 Penn State at the UW Field House.
Though Wisconsin (4-6 Big Ten, 14-8 overall) played tough against top-ranked Penn State Friday night, the Badgers struggled against an upset-minded Hoosier squad Sunday that has now won three of its last four contests.
Wisconsin head coach Pete Waite said he was disappointed in his team's inconsistency and lack of fire.
At this point in the season I would expect us to be flowing better together and be more consistent with our play,"" Waite said Sunday. ""It starts with ball control and attitude, and I don't think we had either tonight. It was unacceptable as far as they approached the match - the way they approached every point. They've got to find some fire within them as a group.""
The Badgers have stumbled to their worst opening conference record since 1995, four years before Waite took the helm at UW. Wisconsin has also lost four straight matches, its longest streak since that same year, when the team lost seven in a row.
Top-ranked Penn State (9-0, 21-0) brought an undefeated mark into Madison Friday night and left with a business-like sweep - 25-20, 25-16, 25-21 - to retain its unblemished record.
""That's a very, very good team - there's such a small margin of error on our side of the net,"" Waite said. ""You just cannot make an error because they are not going to make any. I thought we battled pretty well, but they're hitting at such high angles, you can't even train that way.""
The senior tandem of Nicole Fawcett and Christa Harmotto combined for 27 kills for the Nittany Lions, who hit at a .340 clip on the night. Penn State also outblocked Wisconsin 9-5, led by sophomore Arielle Wilson's five block assists.
""They're all really big hitters,"" sophomore setter Nikki Klingsporn said. ""I think we were really just trying to, if they ever got a really big kill, just move on because it's only one point.""
The Badgers hit just .133 on the night, led by sophomore Allison Wack's eight kills. Senior Morgan Salow added seven from the outside, and senior Audra Jeffers was her usual steady self, racking up six kills on .308 hitting.
On Sunday, the Badgers took the first set against Indiana (4-6, 12-10), but failed to secure another as the Hoosiers stole a big conference road win 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-20.
Junior Brittney Dolgner, a Waupun, Wis., native, got back on track Sunday for Waupun Community Day, leading Wisconsin with 16 kills. Although Jeffers added 10 kills and seven block assists against IU, Wisconsin's offense suffered with just a .143 attack percentage.
Indiana senior Erica Short led all players with 19 kills, with sophomore Ashley Benson adding 14 for the Hoosiers.
""I'm disappointed in the way things went,"" Jeffers said. ""I'm extra motivated to get in there and try to find some way to fire the team up. Like coach said, it's about attitude. This next week of practice I'm going to try really hard to bring the team in and motivate everyone and get that fire back.""
""That passion for volleyball is why you started playing,"" Dolgner said. ""Once everybody flows together and gets that back we'll be great.""
One bright spot for Wisconsin was the play of sophomore libero Kim Kuzma, who dug a career-high 26 attacks against the Hoosiers.
Wisconsin will look to rekindle its doused flame as it hosts Northwestern (7-14, 1-9) Wednesday evening in a mid-week showdown at the UW Field House. The match will be broadcast live at 7 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
