The Iowa volleyball team traveled to Madison, Wisconsin, on Wednesday night and dropped the match to the No. 5 Badgers in straight sets.

Coming off their first conference win in an upset over No. 24 Northwestern on Oct. 18, the loss to the Wildcats drops the Hawkeyes to 9-11 overall, 1-8 in the Big Ten.

The Badgers improved to 17-2 on the season, 8-1 in conference play.

Wisconsin never allowed the Hawkeyes to find a groove and ride the momentum that had them playing so well in the past week. Wisconsin went up 3-0 in the first set and held that lead for the entire set and, largely, through the entire match.

Iowa threatened with the score 9-7, but a 3-point run by Wisconsin put the Hawks down by 5 and carried the Badgers to a 25-15 victory.

In the second set, Iowa came out of the gate with a strong response following the loss. However, after jumping out to a 4-3 lead, it allowed a 5-point run to go down 8-4. The deficit grew to 11-5 and then 18-11 before Iowa made a run of its own.

After 4 Hawkeye points in a row, Wisconsin head coach Kelly Sheffield called a timeout leading only 19-16. Iowa crept closer, once trailing by only two, but Wisconsin held out for a 25-22 victory.

Iowa again jumped out to a 4-3 lead in set three but fell victim to another deadly Badger run. The Hawkeyes fell behind, 10-5, and despite a late surge to cut the lead to 19-17, dropped the set and the match with a 25-19 defeat.

Freshman Jess Janota led the Hawkeyes with 10 kills, while Alessandra Dietz and Lauren Brobst each registed 9.

Iowa will next play Minnesota on the road on Saturday.

— by Kyle Mann