Another late-night battle ended in disappointment this time for Florida volleyball Wednesday at the Big Ten/SEC Challenge in Madison, Wis.
No. 17 Florida lost to the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers 3-2, (21-25, 25-20, 19-25, 26-24, 13-15) at UW Fieldhouse.
The Gators (2-1) fought through the intense fifth set. The Badgers (2-3) dove to the ground often, creating a 6-1 lead to start the set. Big blocks from Alec Rothe and kills from Kamryn Chaney tied the set 13-13. However, a Florida attack error ended its comeback.
Wednesday’s loss followed a 3-1 win against No. 11 Minnesota to open the challenge on Tuesday. Wisconsin, on the other hand, ends its two-game losing streak and earns its second-ranked win of the season.
Much of the credit for the Badgers’ win goes to outside hitter Audrey Flanagan. The freshman led Wisconsin in kills (18) and attacks (53), breaking her own personal bests. Her final kill and serve cut short Florida’s hopes of pulling off the upset.
Flanagan did not carry the win on her own. The Gators gave away four free points from serving errors in the final set and totaled 17 errors on the night. Selena Leban, the major offensive threat in Tuesday’s win against Minnesota, tallied seven serving errors alone.
Luckily for Florida, Wisconsin also struggled to serve the ball, committing 15 errors. The teams only served three aces each, with the outcome of the match dependent on strong offense and even stronger defense.
On offense, the Badgers out-attacked and out-killed the Gators, putting up 171 attacks and 71 kills compared to 155 and 57, respectively.
The Gators also struggled with their hitting efficiency. Despite the team’s hitting percentage improving from the game before (.265), Florida hit poorly in sets three and five (.148 and .182). Florida ended up losing these sets.
On defense, the teams played through long rallies, but Wisconsin had better ball control. The Badgers dug the ball 69 times, with three players in double digits.
The connection between Taylor Parks and the Florida middles, though, kept hope alive for the Gators.
Throughout the match, Parks set the ball with one hand to prevent the overpass and then a middle, like Rothe, read this and went for the kill. Rothe ended the night with a double-double in kills (10), one block and assisted blocks (11) while hitting .444.
Chaney also continued to power Florida’s offense after leading the team to a four-set victory the night before. A late kill and dig in the fourth set kept the Gators from blowing a 5-0 lead and forced a fifth set. She dominated scoring for Florida, ending the match with 22 kills on a .347 hitting percentage.
The Gators play at Waco, Texas, against No. 20 Baylor (3-0) at 2 p.m. ET Saturday (ESPN+).
