This post was updated Nov. 20 at 12:35 a.m.

Alfee Reft has said the Bruins perform well against new teams.

But the coach’s confidence could only go so far.

UCLA women’s volleyball (12-13, 6-10 Big Ten) fell to No. 6 Wisconsin (20-5, 14-2) 3-1 in front of a packed Pauley Pavilion crowd where chants echoed from a sea of red and blue spectators.

“I thought it was a good battle for most of them. We just weren’t able to execute long enough,” Reft said.

The Bruins claimed the first set 25-20, outperforming the Badgers in kills, aces and blocks, while boasting a .433 hitting percentage. Graduate student middle hitter Leilani Dodson served two aces, while freshman setter Kate Duffey contributed a third to seal the frame.

“We were knocking them off and capitalizing off of their pins out of system and transitioning those points,” Reft said.

Junior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette led the match with 20 kills – one more than Wisconsin outside hitter Sarah Franklin, the reigning AVCA Player of the Year – while hitting .368 in a performance that has become normal for the Georgia local.

“One thing we talked about was not doing anything out of the ordinary or different,” Leverette said. “Just approaching this match, being authentic to ourselves and not thinking we have to change the way we approach anything.”

Leading the charge for the Badgers was middle blocker/right side hitter Anna Smrek. The 2023 Second-Team All-American delivered 16 kills at a .609 hitting percentage to only two errors – the highest efficiency of the night. Right behind her was Franklin, who recorded 19 kills at a .378 clip.

The nation’s top-ranked team in blocks per set demonstrated their dominance at Pauley Pavilion, out-blocking the Bruins 12 to five.

Whatever advantage the Bruins had slowly diminished as the match progressed. The second set saw the Bruins struggle offensively, registering eight kills to nine errors, resulting in a -.034 hitting percentage.

UCLA made efforts in the third and fourth sets, but it was no use against the Badgers, who ended the night hitting .402 compared to the Bruins’ .192.

Even though the score wasn’t what the Bruins were hoping for, graduate student setter Audrey Pak said it’s important to learn from their mistakes and not dwell on the missed opportunity.

“We talked a lot about failure recovery and when we do lose a point, not being down about it,” Pak said. “Just knowing ‘What did I learn from that?’ and ‘What can I take to the next play to do better?'”