(WISCONSIN ATHLETICS) – IOWA CITY, Iowa. — The No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team (13-5, 7-1) downed the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-10, 1-6) in four sets (25-16, 26-28, 25-21, 25-17) in Iowa City Sunday afternoon, behind a strong showing from the Badger middle blockers.
Senior Jaela Auguste put together a career-high performance, tallying 20 kills on a .552 hitting percentage. Freshman Decelise Champion provided 14 kills of her own, as freshman Lynney Tarnow chipped in 13. Defensively, freshman Anna Bardaro provided a match-high 15 digs.
Setter Charlie Fuerbringer provided an efficient showing once again, tying her season-best in assists. Her 55-assist performance marked the fifth time this season the setter has surpassed the 50-assist mark.
Auguste stood out late in the first set, turning in five kills on a .667 hitting percentage to lift the Badgers to a 25-16 victory. The Spring, Texas, native tallied back-to-back kills in a 5-0 run before chipping in two more late in the frame.
Champion also got off to a quick start in the match, grabbing four kills and a service ace in a strong 4-0 serving run in the first frame.
In the second set, Wisconsin cut down on an early Iowa lead with a 4-0 burst led by back-to-back kills from Fuerbringer to grab a narrow 17-15 lead. But the Hawkeyes provided a swift response despite a strong seven-kill showing from middle blocker Auguste in the second set alone.
The Hawkeyes went on to claim the last three rallies to seal the second set 26-28 and knot the match at 1-1 heading into the third set.
It remained back-and-forth in the third set before the Badgers jumped out to a late 19-17 lead with the help of kills from a trio of freshmen.
The teams continued to trade points from there, but back-to-back points from Champion and another kill from Auguste helped power the Badgers close to the end of the set before an attack error capped off the set, 25-21 for Wisconsin.
Auguste caught a spark early in the fourth set, tallying back-to-back kills early to tie her career-high 16 kills. After both teams traded points, the Badgers built separation thanks to a 4-0 run highlighted by another kill from Auguste. The senior then turned in the final kill to seal the set 25-17 and lift the Badgers to the 3-1 match victory.
Notes:
-
Wisconsin improved to 66-21-1 and 30-12 in Iowa City, and 11th-straight against the Hawkeyes with the 3-1 victory.
-
UW extends it’s streak to 87-straight wins over unranked opponents. The last loss Wisconsin suffered against an unranked opponent was on September 24, 2021 against Maryland.
-
The Badgers hit .377 (69-20-130) for it’s ninth match this season of hitting .300 or better.
-
Junior middle blocker Jaela Auguste set a new career-high with a 20 kill (20-4-29) performance against Iowa. Previously, Auguste tallied 16 against Mississippi St. on September 26, 2025. The 29 attempts also ties a career-high as well.
-
Freshman Lynney Tarnow reached double-figure kills for the third time this season with a 13-3-22 (.455) offensive performance.
-
Wisconsin had three players with double-digit kills, Auguste (20), Decelise Champion added 14, and Tarnow had 13.
-
Libero Anna Bardaro reached double-digit digs for the 13th time this season. Bardaro had a match-high 15 digs.
Wisconsin 3, Maryland 0
The No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team swept the Maryland Terrapins in straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-18) at the Field House on Friday night behind a strong hitting performance.
The Badgers (11-5, 5-1) combined for a .344 hitting percentage while tallying 11 blocks, holding Maryland (12-6, 2-5) to a .155 performance. Freshman middle blocker Lynney Tarnow notched a new career-high in blocks, tallying eight on the night.
Freshman Decelise Champion led the Badgers with 17 kills on a .552 hitting percentage, also contributing six digs and five blocks. Halle Thompson added seven kills and nine digs, as Jaela Auguste and Eva Travis chipped in six kills each.
Wisconsin opened the match strong, jumping out to an 8-2 lead behind strong hitting. The Badgers combined for a .500 hitting percentage (15 – 3 – 24) to cruise through the first set 25-18 with five different Badgers tallying kills.
In the second set, UW charged back from an early deficit, finding momentum off a pair of 3-0 runs thanks to a pair of kills from Champion to grab an 11-8 lead. Thompson pitched in her own pair of kills to help lift the Badgers to a narrow 15-14 lead heading into the media timeout.
The two teams traded points down the stretch before Maryland used a 3-0 burst to grab a 21-18 lead heading late into the set. The Badgers swiftly responded, however, claiming five of the last six rallies to win the set 25-23 and grab a 2-0 edge into the third frame.
The Badgers recorded three consecutive blocks down the stretch in the third set to build a 4-0 run for an 18-10 lead. Maryland found a late push, claiming four straight rallies before a service error sealed the set, 25-18, lifting the Badgers to the match win. Champion continued her success at the net, recording six of her 17 kills in that frame to help pad the win.
Notes:
-
With the 3-0 sweep, Wisconsin improved to 15-1 all-time against Maryland and 9-0 when playing in Madison.
-
The Badgers totaled a .344 hitting clip (42-10-93), hitting .300 or better for the eighth time this season.
-
Wisconsin reached double-digit blocks for the fifth time this season with 11.0, led by freshman Lynney Tarnow who totaled a team-best eight.
-
Freshman Halle Thompson got her third start of the season, and first since Auburn on September 3. Thompson collected seven kills on 19 swings.
-
Libero Anna Bardaro tallied her 13th match with double-digit digs. Bardaro had a match-high 15 digs against the Hawkeyes.
-
Opposite Decelise Champion set a career-best hitting percentage against the Terrapins, swinging a .552, with a 17 kill performance. This also marks her sixth match with double-figure kills.
-
Middle blocker Lynney Tarnow set a new career-high with eight blocks against Maryland. She previously totaled six blocks four times this season and most recently at Minnesota on October 4.
Up Next: Wisconsin returns home to take on the No. 20 Washington Huskies on Friday, Oct. 23. First serve is slated for 8 p.m. with the match airing on Big Ten Network.
Comments