Wisconsin volleyball splits vs. Northwestern, Illinois

No. 9 Wisconsin volleyball split a pair of weekend conference matches at the Field House, sweeping Northwestern 25–13, 25–14, 25–15 on Friday and losing to No. 6 Illinois 25–23, 21–25, 33–35, 23–25 in an epic match on Saturday.

The Badgers (12–4 overall, 5–3 Big Ten) made short work of the Wildcats on Friday in front of over 7,000 fans, hitting .404 while holding Northwestern to .138. Sophomore outside hitter Grace Loberg led the way with 15 kills and sophomore setter Sydney Hilley had 39 assists.

A week after knocking off Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, the Illini returned the favor on Saturday 25–23, 21–25, 33–35, 23–25 in Madison. Defense was on display with Illinois hitting .220 and the Badgers hitting just .210. Sophomore middle blocker Dana Rettke had 19 kills and senior middle blocker Tionna Williams had six blocks.

Libero Tiffany Clark had a huge weekend, grabbing 21 digs against Northwestern and a career-high two digs against Illinois. The junior was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.