Wisconsin volleyball loses Elite Eight match to Stanford

A magical year for Wisconsin volleyball ended in heartache Saturday, as the Badgers lost to the Stanford Cardinal 3-2 at the Field House.

After a strong start, Wisconsin gave up a 2-0 match lead in the face of a hot Stanford serve and tough defense. Seniors Haleigh Nelson (.560, 15 kills), Lauren Carlini (.357, 57 assists) and Romana Kriskova (.320, 13 kills) all came up big in their final matches at the Field House.

For the second year in a row, the Badgers bow out of the NCAA tournament in the Elite Eight. (Auth. correction: The Badgers dropped a Sweet Sixteen match last year to Florida.) Next year looks bright, with a heralded recruiting class augmenting a strong returning core, including All-Big Ten team member Tionna Williams and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Molly Haggerty, both of whom were named to the AVCA regional All-American team this week.

But for this decorated group of outgoing seniors—Lauren Carlini, Haleigh Nelson, Romana Kriskova and Tori Blake—this was a tough way to end a wonderful season.