MADISON, Wis. – The No. 15 Indiana Hoosiers lost to the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers on Thursday, losing 19-25, 14-25, 25-22, 25-20 and 8-15.
The Hoosiers went toe to toe with one of the elite teams in the country, and battling back down two sets was something they lacked early in the season against ranked teams like Louisville and Tennessee. Indiana head coach Steve Aird could not have been more proud postgame.
“I thought we showed a lot of grit and played as good as we had all year in sets three and four,” Aird said, adding that, through the first three Big Ten games, he sees his team as, “deeper than ever before and that they have a higher end than ever.”
In the first set, the Hoosiers and Badgers traded points early. Indiana got kills early from Sara Snowbarger and Jaidyn Jager, with each contributing two. Wisconsin was getting strong play from Audrey Flanagan and Lynney Tarnow, building the lead to 15-12 ahead of the media timeout. The Hoosiers got the score to 16-14 with a side out in their favor after an attack error from the Badgers, but they weren’t able to capitalize after contributing a service error of their own.
With the score being 17-14, Indiana needed to get to work. A kill from Ella Boersema got the Hoosiers started, but they were not able to hold the momentum. Attack errors from Jager and Kiki Granberry made the score 19-15 favoring the Badgers, forcing Indiana head coach Steve Aird to take a timeout.
The Hoosiers responded right away, with kills from Jager and Avry Tatum cutting the deficit to two at 19-17. The Tatum kill was set up exceptionally by Teodora Kričković and punctuated a long rally led by Hannah Leftridge in the back. The Badgers stopped the momentum right away, scoring three straight points and forcing Aird to call his last timeout as the Hoosiers trailed 22-17. The Hoosiers were not able to find their footing, and the Badgers had them on the brink at 24-19.
In the second set, Wisconsin jumped out to an early 4-2 lead thanks to a kill from Grace Lopez and an ace from Anna Bardaro. Kills from Jaela Auguste and Flanagan coupled with another ace from Lopez made the score 7-2 and forced coach Aird to use an early timeout in hopes of regrouping his players.
The Badgers continued to hold the momentum, building the lead to 12-5 after errors from the Hoosiers and a Tarnow kill for Wisconsin. Another kill by Tarnow coupled with an attack error from Tatum made the score 15-7 favoring the Badgers ahead of the media timeout. The Hoosiers got two straight points out of the break thanks to kills from Victoria Gray and Snowbarger, but the Badgers went right back to work. Two consecutive kills from Auguste made the score 17-9 and forced Aird to take his final timeout.
Out of the break, it was more of the same. Wisconsin got contributions from Charlie Fuerbringer, Flanagan and Eva Travis, adding onto their lead and making the score 21-12. Flanagan dominated the rest of the set, and a kill from her punctuated set two for the Badgers, giving them a 25-14.
In the third set, the Hoosiers jumped out to an early 5-3 lead thanks to strong play at the net coupled with errors made by the Badgers. Wisconsin got right back in it after a service error from Emma Segal, but Indiana kept the foot on the gas. Kills from Kričković and Jager made the score 9-9, and a kill from Snowbarger kept the score deadlocked. A service error from the Badgers coupled with an ace from Tatum made the score 12-11 favoring the Hoosiers.
Wisconsin punched right back, with attack errors from Boersema and Jager making the score 14-12 favoring the Badgers. A kill from Natalie Wardlow gave the Badgers a 15-13 lead ahead of the media timeout.
The Hoosiers went to work right out of the break, with two consecutive Boersema aces and an error on the Badgers giving Indiana a 17-15 lead and forcing Wisconsin to take a timeout. Jager added a kill out of the timeout, and a kill from Tatum made the score 19-16 favoring the Hoosiers. Wisconsin punched right back, with kills from Flanagan and Auguste making the score 20-20 and forcing Indiana to burn a timeout.
The Hoosiers responded once again, with an ace and a kill from Tatum making the score 23-21, forcing Wisconsin to use their last timeout. The Hoosiers put the Badgers to the brink after a Snowbarger kill made the score 24-22 favoring Indiana. Boersema and Kričković stepped up big on match point, capping off a dominating net sequence with a block and giving Indiana a 25-22 win in set three.
In set four, the Hoosiers and Badgers traded points early on. Indiana was getting solid contributions from Snowbarger and Tatum, while Flanagan continued to lead the way for Wisconsin. The Hoosiers created some breathing room after kills from Snowbarger and Tatum made the score 6-4. Tatum added two aces right after, making the score 9-5. Kills from Boersema and Jager made the score 12-6 and forced Wisconsin to use their first timeout. Jager added another kill after the timeout, and punctuated the first half of the fourth set with another kill, giving the Hoosiers a 15-8 lead at the media timeout.
Out of the timeout, Tatum and Gray added kills, making the score 17-12. Boersema and Snowbarger each added on a kill right after, making the score 19-12 and forcing Wisconsin to use their last timeout. Auguste helped Wisconsin respond right away, and an attack error from Boersema made the score 19-15 favoring the Hoosiers.
Indiana punched right back, forcing Wisconsin into errors and making the score 21-15. The Badgers responded, rattling off three straight points to make the score 21-18, forcing Aird to use his last timeout. A kill from Jager out of the break coupled with Wisconsin errors made the score 24-20, pushing the Badgers to the brink. With match point on the line, a kill from Tatum gave the Hoosiers a 25-20 win, forcing a fifth set.
In the fifth set, Wisconsin jumped out to an early 4-2 lead thanks to kills from Flanagan and Decelise Champion. An ace from Wardlow made the score 5-2 and forced Aird to use his first timeout of the set. Wisconsin kept their foot on the gas, with Auguste contributing strong play and helping the Badgers build the lead to 8-4. An error from Jager made the score 10-6 and forced Indiana to use their final timeout. Kills from Tarnow and Travis out of the break extended the lead to 12-6, and a block assist from Tarnow put the Hoosiers on the brink. With match point on the line for the Badgers, a kill from Champion gave Wisconsin the win.
The Hoosiers travel to New Jersey to face Rutgers on Sunday. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
