MADISON, Wis. — It was a historic night as the No. 11 Marquette volleyball team upset No. 4 Wisconsin in Madison in a thrilling 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 29-27, 32-30, 15-9) comeback victory on Thursday night.
The win marked the first time in program history that Marquette (4-0) defeated the Badgers (2-1) and was the highest ranked program that the Golden Eagles have topped. MU has knocked down top-10 opponents in back-to-back contests.
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Senior Allie Barber led four Golden Eagles in double digit kills with 22, while Hope Werch and Kaitlyn Lines added 17 and sophomore Ellie Koontz connected on a career-best 15 kills in the victory. Koontz hit a blistering .542 clip, while Werch connected on .517 attempts.
Lauren Speckman and Sarah Rose shared setting duties and handed out 42 and 24 assists, respectively as Martha Konovodoff collected 17 digs.
After falling behind 2-0 in the match, Marquette fought hard in the third and fourth frames, fending off multiple match point attempts from the Badgers. The score was tied 13 times in the third frame and on 15 occasions in the fourth as both teams pushed the match to a fifth and final set.
Marquette trailed 4-1 in the fifth, but closed out the match on a 14-5 run, securing the impressive victory.
Wisconsin was led by Dana Rettke, who matched Barber's match-high 22 kills, while three other Badgers recorded double-digit kills.
The Golden Eagles will return to Milwaukee to host Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Take a look at the match-winning point:
A beautiful sight! No. 11 #muvb knocks down No. 4 Wisconsin coming from behind to win 3-2! pic.twitter.com/fQyLOtz3Vi
— Marquette Volleyball (@MarquetteVB) September 6, 2019
