The No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers saw their 10-game winning streak snapped on Friday in a 3-0 loss to the No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions on the road.
Playing without star Charlie Fuerbringer and Grace Egan, the Badgers struggled against Penn State star Kennedy Martin, losing 25-20, 25-21, 25-16. Martin had an all-around performance, recording 23 kills, three blocks, and eight digs in the win.
Wisconsin started off behind the eight ball as Penn State went on an early 5-0 run to take a 7-3 lead. In that run,
the Badgers had four straight attack errors, while a Caroline Jurevicius kill capped off the run. They controlled the rest of the set, leading by at least three points the rest of the way en route to a 25-20 start in Set 1.
It was the exact story in Set 2, as Wisconsin got off to a 3-2 lead only for Penn State to go on another 5-0 run. This time, it was kills from Maggie Mendelson, Kennedy Martin (2x), and Jurevicious that led the way for the Nittany Lions.
Wisconsin fought back, closing the lead to 8-7, and they continued to fight, with a kill from Carter Booth and a Martin attack error tying things up at 11. Wisconsin even took a 13-12 lead after kills from Mimi Colyer and Una Vajagic, and both teams went back and forth from there, with things being tied up at 19 apiece.
But, the Nittany Lions got back-to-back kills from Martin in a crucial moment, while an attack error from Madison Quest gave them a 22-19 lead late in the set. Then, up 23-21, kills from Martin and Jurevicious capped things off in the second set, with Penn State taking a 2-0 lead.
Wisconsin seemed to be the early leader in the third set, going on an 8-1 run after Penn State opened the set with the first three points. But, a furious 9-2 run from the Nittany Lions killed any hope for Wisconsin, as Penn State cruised to a 19-12 lead. They ultimately won the final set 25-16 to pull off the upset and hand the Badgers their second loss of the season.
The Badgers dropped to 11-2 on the season, including 4-1 in the Big Ten, and will hope that Grace Egan can make her return soon after she dressed up for the game on Friday.
Next up, Wisconsin will travel to Maryland on Sunday for its second match of the week. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
