MADISON, Wis. – The ISU volleyball team gave it everything they had. They scrapped and clawed their way back from a 20-12 deficit. They staved off four match points, refusing to let the season come to a close. But in the end, the 10th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers proved to be too much.

Iowa State was swept out of the second round of the NCAA tournament by the Badgers (20-30, 25-30, 27-30), making it a bittersweet return to her former employer for coach Christy Johnson.

“I thought we lost to a very good team tonight,” Johnson said. “Wisconsin is very deserving of their No. 10 ranking.”

For the Cyclones, making just their second NCAA tournament appearance in school history, the weekend got off to a great start.

For a team with no previous postseason experience, Iowa State looked surprisingly calm on Friday as it dismantled its first round opponent, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (30-21, 30-10, 30-21). The 10 points in game two were the fewest Iowa State has given up in the rally-scoring era.

The Cyclones were clearly more physical and athletic than their Horizon League opponent, overmatching them from the start.

“I think it was a huge factor playing in the Big 12,” Johnson said. “It’s so different when you are used to seeing big blocks night after night.”

No one had a stand-out performance against the Panthers, but a complete team effort propelled the Cyclones to victory. Senior Katie Jessen led the way with 11 kills, with junior Erin Boeve and senior Jessica Klein each chipping in 10.

“We spread the ball around quite a bit,” Johnson said. “I thought everyone did a good job in their role.”

The second round match against Wisconsin on Saturday followed a different script than the first night.

Going into the match, the Cyclones were concentrating on stopping the Badgers’ outside hitters, especially all-Big Ten freshman Brittany Dolgner. Iowa State did hold Dolgner to a .133 hitting percentage, but the rest of the Wisconsin offense stepped up.

“Unfortunately they have enough other good players that they could redirect their offense to other people,” Johnson said. “They have enough good players that you can’t just camp on one person.”

The majority of that redirection came from the Wisconsin middle blockers, who were able to run the slide attack effectively all night.

“I knew they had great slide hitters, so I wasn’t surprised,” Johnson said. “I coached Taylor [Reineke] for a couple years so I knew she was a great slide hitter.”

Iowa State played the Badgers tough, but until the closing points of the third game, was never able to apply serious pressure to Wisconsin. Any potential rally was quickly stopped, either by a Cyclone miscue like a missed serve, or some sort of fluky point by the Badgers.

At one point the Wisconsin libero had a kill on an overpass that Iowa State’s miscommunication allowed to drop for a point. Those kinds of mistakes are heartbreaking for a team trying to get back into the match.

“At points we really got going with our blocking and then we would make an unforced error,” said senior Nicole Lorenzen. “As much as that might stop a run, we can’t let that affect us, and maybe at points we did.”

Wisconsin did a good job of forcing Iowa State out of its game. The Badgers served aggressively, tallying seven service aces, and the Cyclones were never able to get in a rhythm, especially with the middle blockers. Boeve only had six kills after game two, finishing with 11 on the night, and for the first time all season failed to record a block.

“I think we had a hard time getting in a groove to begin with,” said senior Katie Churm. “If we play Iowa State scrappy volleyball and are intense, that is our game. I think it took us game one and game two to get in rhythm.”