The No. 1 Wisconsin Badgers fell just short in a Final Four thriller on Thursday, losing 3-2 to the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats in heartbreaking fashion.
Wisconsin took the first set very comfortably, winning
25-12 with a great start. After Kentucky took the second set, the Badgers bounced back with a big win in the third set. The fourth set went down to the wire, but the Wildcats finished it 26-24 to set up one final set for a spot in the championship. And the Badgers fell just short 15-13, fending off three match points before losing at the end.
It was a phenomenal first set for stars Mimi Colyer and Carter Booth, who each had seven kills and hit a combined .933 in the frame. The Badgers got off to a quick 9-2 start, and Kentucky never had a chance from there, trailing by at least six for the rest of the set.
It was Kentucky that started off the second set well, getting out to an early 7-4 lead. Wisconsin had a huge 6-2 run, though, to take the lead at 10-9, thanks to a number of errors and blocks from Carter Booth and Alicia Andrew. Things remained tight through the end, with Wisconsin having a 20-18 lead after an Una Vajagic kill. But, that’s when Kentucky got hot, finishing the set on a 7-2 run to win 25-22 and tie things at one set apiece.
The Badgers got out to an early lead again in the third set, starting out on top 6-3. After two Kentucky points, Wisconsin had another 6-2 run, going up 12-7, thanks to kills from Andrew, Colyer, and Vajagic. Kentucky had its moments, including a three-point run to cut things to 15-12, but Wisconsin kept in control for the rest of the set. That included fending off a late Wildcats run with three straight points to finish out the second set 25-21 and take a 2-1 lead.
The fourth set was tight from the jump, as both sides had ties and a couple of lead changes all the way till the halfway point of the set, where things were tied at 13 apiece. Kentucky got the edge with two straight points and continued to hold a narrow lead, going up 20-17 as the set was reaching a close. That got out to 24-21, as the Badgers were facing set point, but Wisconsin went on an incredible three-point run to tie things at 24 apiece.
Unfortunately, attack errors from Mimi Colyer and Una Vajagic sealed the set for Kentucky, as they won 26-24 to tie things up at two sets apiece.
Up came the fifth set, where the moods suddenly shifted as Kentucky got out on an 8-1 run after the Badgers got the first point of the set. Just like that, Wisconsin was playing well from behind, but they never gave up. Facing match point at 14-11, the Badgers got back-to-back kills from Mimi Colyer to close the lead to 14-13.
Unfortunately, that’s where the road ended for the Badgers, as Eva Hudson’s 29th kill of the evening gave Kentucky its ticket to the National Championship Game on Sunday, sending Wisconsin home in heartbreak.
It was a big game for Wisconsin’s two stars. Mimi Colyer re-set her career-high with 32 kills, hitting .348, while Carter Booth re-set her career high with 21 kills after tying that against Stanford last weekend.
Wisconsin had 77 kills in comparison to Kentucky’s 65 kills, hitting .375, while the latter hit .254. Kentucky also had more attack errors (22 vs. 17), but service errors killed the Badgers (14 to 9).
The Badgers had an incredible run to get to the Final Four, beating No. 2 Stanford and No. 1 Louisville before taking the 29-2 Wildcats to five sets in a thrilling matchup. Unfortunately, that’s where the road ends for the Badgers.
