The highly-anticipated opening of Big Ten play at home for the Wisconsin volleyball team turned into a struggle for offensive consistency this weekend, as the team lost to top-ranked Penn State and No. 22 Ohio State.

The Badgers (13-4, 1-3 Big Ten) fell to Ohio State (11-5, 2-2) Saturday night in four sets, but the team was hard-pressed to find a sense of offensive rhythm throughout the first two sets. Wisconsin racked up 18 errors in the first two sets and had a total of 26 in the match, a season high.

Head Coach Pete Waite said the lack of team chemistry on the court led to offensive frustration against Ohio State.

“Those first two sets were tough,” Waite said. “There might have been some hangover from the match last night as far as not being in rhythm, not being confident. It took them a while to become a team again. … We’re fighting each other more than we were fighting the opponent.”

While the Badgers improved their passing significantly from Friday’s match against Penn State – picking up 11 more assists against Ohio State – the Buckeyes boasted solid play from senior Amanda Peterson and sophomore Taylor Sherwin, who combined for 49 assists at a setting clip of .389. UW could only muster a team passing percentage of .253, 98 points below its season average.

Wisconsin struggled to find good looks on its attacks in the first two sets, posting attacking percentages of .067 and -.091, respectively, with the season average at .246. Only sophomore Ellen Chapman had a hitting percentage above .160 for the match.

Senior Alexis Mitchell, who contributed 12 kills but had seven errors, said she needs to be more aggressive on first-ball-kill situations.

“Just putting the ball away when you get set,” Mitchell said. “When I am getting set, I need to put the ball away and just be smart. Not every ball is bangable, so you’ve got to hit shots, use your tips and just kind of play a [mental] game with the other team.”

The Badgers discovered a renewed sense of energy on the offensive end in the third set, posting 14 kills and committing just two errors off a .316 hitting percentage. With the set tied at 16 apiece, Wisconsin closed the set on a 9-3 run, with three of those points coming on Mitchell kills.

The third set was also the only set of the match in which the Badgers held a lead past 1-0. Wisconsin struggled to put up points early in sets, falling behind 1-6 in the first set and 3-7 in the fourth.

According to junior libero Annemarie Hickey, the team needs to find its chemistry faster to be successful in the beginning of sets.

“I think that we’ve shown in the past that we can start out strong, we just recently have been struggling with that, and I think it starts with everybody coming together as a team,” Hickey said. “It all starts off with the pass, which we did a lot better tonight.”

The Nittany Lions – the top squad in all of college volleyball – swept the Badgers Friday night. Penn State (14-1) is a perfect 4-0 in Big Ten action, most recently defeating No. 10 Minnesota Saturday, and has only dropped one match all season.

Penn State nearly doubled Wisconsin’s kill total with 54 at a .370 attack percentage. Junior Deja McClendon led Penn State with 14 kills and 16 digs, one of three Nittany Lions with double-figure kills.

Waite said aside from its clear talent, Penn State’s height posed a difficult challenge for Wisconsin, especially 6-foot 6-inch middle hitter Katie Slay and 6-foot 4-inch outside hitter Ariel Scott.

“It’s an extremely tall lineup,” Waite said. “They found the sidelines. … These players hit a lot of shots in different directions on the court, so it was hard to defend.”

Sophomore setter Micha Hancock also gave Wisconsin difficulties, as she led her team with 46 assists and three service aces. She ranks third in the country with .60 services aces per set.

With the score 11-11 in the second set, Penn State won five consecutive points, riding Hancock’s powerful left-handed serve.

Hickey said despite Hancock’s serving abilities, the team must have more energy when facing a tough opponent.

“She’s a really great server,” Hickey said. “I think that we just let up a little bit at the end. We really needed to stay positive and have a little more confidence.”