PITTSBURGH (AP) — Dana Rettke had 19 kills, Molly Haggerty added 15 and Wisconsin beat Baylor 25-27, 25-21, 25-17, 25-19 on Thursday night to advance to the NCAA women’s volleyball championship match.
Seeking their first title, the Badgers will face defending champion Stanford in the final Saturday night. The Cardinal swept Minnesota in the second semifinal.
Wisconsin is 3-0 in national semifinals, winning in 2000 and 2013 before falling in the finals both times.
Rettke also had eight blocks and Tiffany Clark added 18 digs for Wisconsin (27-6). Defense was key for the Badgers, as they held the Bears to a .183 hitting percentage.
Yossiana Pressley, the unanimous Big 12 player of the year, led Baylor (29-2) with 25 kills and 16 digs.
“She gets up there and she cranks,” Rettke said. “Definitely a great attacker. I think our blocking was really good.”
In the fourth set, Wisconsin was finally able to neutralize Pressley, blocking her twice as the Badgers took the lead for good at 18-17. The match-winning kill from Rettke went off Pressley’s outstretched fist. Pressley finished with 12 errors.
“To hold that team under .200 and to hold an elite player like Pressley under .200, it was just a great defensive effort,” Badgers head coach Kelly Sheffield said.
Wisconsin avenged a 3-1 loss to Baylor on Sept. 6. The first-set loss was the first time the Badgers dropped a set in their NCAA Tournament run, but the momentary hitch in momentum didn’t seem to bother them.
“We didn’t really panic or anything,” setter Sydney Hilley said. “We knew there was a lot of volleyball left and we knew the match wasn’t going to be decided by just one set.”
The Bears will lose four seniors, but bring back Pressley after making a trip to their first NCAA semifinal and earning the program’s first No. 1 ranking.
“It does sting, but I’m so excited that we got to play together and take this program to places that it’s never been before,” Pressley said. “We’re going to be back next year.”
