No. 5 Penn State women’s volleyball suffered its first conference loss of the season against No. 13 Wisconsin Wednesday night at the UW Field House.

Wisconsin outside hitter Grace Loberg led both teams with 21 kills in the Nittany Lions’ 25-23, 23-25, 13-25, 13-25 loss.

How It Happened

Defensive specialist Keeton Holcomb made her second start of the season Wednesday night, taking the typical spot of outside hitter Allyson Cathey.

To no one’s surprise, the match’s opening set was a back-and-forth affair from start to finish, as neither team led by more than three points throughout the set. Impressive defense punctuated by an Allyson Cathey kill allowed Penn State to take the opening set 25-23.

From that set on, Penn State simply had no answer for Wisconsin’s attack. The Badgers were relentless on offense, hitting at a .310 clip overall and racking up 57 kills throughout the four-set match. The team also recorded seven service aces in the victory.

Despite the loss, there were a few bright spots for the Nittany Lions.

Kendall White was everywhere Wednesday night. The star libero racked up 15 digs in the match and used her fantastic court vision to her advantage. White is now just 11 digs away from tying Kim Kumfer’s career dig total of 1,686 — good for second in program history.

Jonni Parker put her prime hitting skills on full display against the Badgers, totaling nine kills in the first set alone. She finished the match with 15 kills on .153 hitting, bringing her season total to a team-high 146.

Allyson Cathey played well off the bench, providing a spark to the Nittany Lions’ offense when it needed it most. She would finish the contest with 10 kills on .167 hitting.

Middle blockers Kaitlyn Hord and Tori Gorrell continued to impress at the net throughout the match, recording five and two total blocks, respectively.

Sophomore outside hitter Amanda Phegley made her season debut against Wisconsin. She combined with Kaitlyn Hord for a block in the second set.

Player Of The Match

Grace Loberg | Outside Hitter

Loberg made it look easy in this one, folks. She finished the match with a career-high 21 kills on an insane .486 hitting clip.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions (9-3, 2-1 Big Ten) will return to Rec Hall Saturday, October 5 and attempt to get back on track against Iowa. First serve for the match is set for 7 p.m.