(UW ATHLETICS) PITTSBURGH – The No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team fell in straight sets to No. 4 Pitt (13-25, 21-25, 16-25) to wrap up play at the Opening Spike Classic in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Freshman Lynney Tarnow led the Badgers with seven kills on a hitting percentage of .462. Grace Lopez made her first start at right side as a Badger, chipping in seven kills of her own.
The Badgers got out to a slow start in the first set, as Pitt’s front row tested Wisconsin with a 7-2 run out of the gates. Wisconsin looked to close the gap, but the Panthers maintained their pace before finishing out the set with a kill from Ayanna Watson to seal the win, 25-13.
Pitt continued to attack on the offensive end in the second set, putting together a 5-0 scoring run to create distance from the Badgers. Wisconsin mounted a late push off back-to-back points from Grace Lopez with a block and kill, but a service error sealed the set win for Pitt, 25-21.
The pace continued in the third set as the two teams traded points before Pitt pulled away with a 14-4 run en route to complete the 3-0 sweep.
The Panthers’ physicality up front forced the Badgers into a season-low hitting percentage, finishing at .079 (33 – 24 – 114) compared to Pitt’s .264 (39 – 11 – 106). Wisconsin finished with 24 attack errors, in addition to 12 blocks turned in by Pitt.
Notes:
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With the loss, Wisconsin falls to 6-5 all-time against Pitt and 0-1 in Pittsburgh
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The Badgers tallied a season-low hitting percentage at .079 (33 – 24 – 114) with 24 attack errors
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Freshman Halle Thompson earned her first collegiate start at outside hitter
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Senior Grace Lopez notched her first start at right side this season, tallying seven kills in the process
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Freshman Kymora Scott tallied a career-high three kills on a .429 hitting percentage.
Up Next: Wisconsin welcomes No. 17 Florida to the UW Field House for its first home match of the season on Wednesday, Sept. 3, as part of the Big Ten/SEC Challenge week. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on FS1.
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