MILWAUKEE�� — Wisconsin’s volleyball team learned how to close out a match the hard way this weekend.

After beating American University 3-0 Saturday morning, the Badgers came out on the losing end of a thrilling five-set match Saturday night to Oregon State. With a night to dwell on their mistakes, UW beat Marquette University on Sunday 3-0, but they had to earn every point.

“Our passing was awesome today,” junior outside hitter Katherine Dykstra said. “Both Nikki [Klingsporn] and Janelle [Gabrielsen] were having an awesome day setting, and the ball would just hang up there for us to hit. Our team really responded to that.”

Head coach Pete Waite predicted the Marquette Cheese Bowl would be difficult for the No. 13 Badgers (10-2), and unfortunately, the Beavers proved him right.

“That is a tough match to lose,” Waite said. “Oregon State played very, very well.”

Sunday afternoon, MU challenged UW in every set, but the Badgers prevailed 25-23, 25-23 and 25-15.

“Even in the first game we got down,” Waite added. “That could have been a long layover from last night as far as not having the emotion. We didn’t come out with as much emotion as I would have liked, but when our backs were against the wall, they stepped up.”

In the first set, UW woke up when Gabrielsen, the freshman setter from Menomonee Falls, served for four straight points, including two aces. Near the end of the match, with the set tied at 23-23, Dykstra told her team they were going to “finish it off.” Dykstra then took it upon herself and won the final point with a solo stuff block.

“I just didn’t want to give Marquette the opportunity to come back,” Dykstra said. “It is something that we really need to work on, in terms of finishing the game when we are that close. Everybody is always talking about finishing the game, finishing the game, and when we are two points away we need to just get after it.”

The second set was well played, with neither team leading by a large margin. The Badgers took control at 21-20, and senior Audra Jeffers won the set with her sixth kill of the match.

“We started a little slow,” Waite said. “But once we got that first game under our belt, we were a little smoother, and the second game was much stronger.”

The third set was competitive in the beginning, but the Badgers reeled off eight straight points and closed out the match 25-15.

“I think we did a much better job today with the serve receive,” Waite said. “I think everybody was more solid, they were playing better as a group, and that really helped start our offense.”

Saturday night against Oregon State, the Badgers lost the first game 23-25. They proceeded to win the next two, 25-19 and 25-16, then lost the final pair, 16-25 and 13-15.

“I think that we had our opportunities in there,” Waite said. “In the first set, I think that we had them. We had the lead and we kind of let it slip away. We came back in the second and third … but we couldn’t quite hold them off in the fourth. Even in the fifth we had our opportunities, but we made a few errors at the end.”

The Badgers fell victim to the talented outside hitters Rachel Rourke and Jill Sawatzky. The two had 26 and 20 kills respectively and were the only Beavers with more than five kills.

“Rourke really went off (with) 26 kills and hitting .353, and also Sawatzky; the two left sides did very, very well,” Waite said.

Saturday morning, UW handled American University 25-21, 25-14, 23-25 and 25-18. The win was dampened, however, because the Badgers lost in a lackadaisical third set.

“Obviously, I am glad that we got the win,” Waite said. “We were hoping to get it done in three, but that is something we have to learn as a team, to close teams out and play stronger in the third so they don’t gain the momentum back.”

The Badgers received a lot of help from their block, totaling 18.5 blocks, compared to American’s two.

“Our blocking game was fantastic; 18.5 blocks opposed to two for American is fantastic,” Waite said. “That type of thing gets in the heads of their hitters, and that is why their hitting percentages were down.”