MADISON, Wis. -- Coming into the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the No. 6 Wisconsin volleyball team knew Oregon would enter the UW Field House ready to battle.
 
The Badgers and Ducks did just that and in the end it was the tenacious play of UW that propelled it past Oregon 25-18, 21-25, 25-21, 25-19 on Thursday evening.
 
"That's a really, really good team and obviously really well coached," UW Head Coach Kelly Sheffield said. "They put you under an incredible amount of stress when you're out there, with the speed of their game and with their serving."
 
Against a notoriously-tricky Oregon offense, the Badger defense shined. Wisconsin (25-6) outblocked Oregon (16-14) 12-9 and each team tallied 60 digs. At the net, freshman Tionna Williams and junior Lauren Carlini each recorded a career high with eight and seven blocks, respectively.
 
"I thought it was the best defensive match we've probably played all season," Sheffield said. "I thought we were just great in the back court. A lot of toughness, I thought we scrapped, kept balls off the floor."
 
Sophomore Kelli Bates paced the Badgers in the backcourt with 18 digs, followed by senior Taylor Morey with 17.
 
Bates recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 18 digs while Carlini earned her 14th behind 50 assists and 11 digs.
 
UW hit .282 (61 kills - 19 errors - 149 total attempts) and held the Ducks to .205 (53-23-146).
 
The Badgers put their scrappy defense on display in the first set.  After battling back and forth with the Ducks to start, Wisconsin got a hold of the lead after sophomore Lauryn Gillis, Carlini and Bates each fired off one kill to put UW up 9-7. Combined with relentless defense by the Badgers, the powerful UW attack overwhelmed the Ducks. With eight kills in the set alone, Oregon had no answer to Bates and UW held the upper hand through the set. The Ducks came as a close as 20-17 following a kill from Martenne Bettendorf, but an Oregon error followed by a Gillis putaway prevented the Ducks from gaining any momentum. To close the set, a block by redshirt junior Romana Kriskova and junior Haleigh Nelson brought set point and a Duck error sealed the first set victory.
 
Oregon came into the second set upping its serving game. Following a Gillis kill and ace from freshman Amber MacDonald to put the Badgers up 10-6, the Ducks took a timeout to figure out how to slow the UW attack. The stoppage paid off as Oregon chipped away at the Badger lead by pressuring UW on the serve. Behind strong hitting from Bettendorf and Taylor Agost, the Ducks managed to tie it at 17-17. Another Bettendorf swing fueled a 4-0 run to put Oregon up 22-18. Although Nelson cut the lead to 23-20 by putting away a statement-making kill, a Badger attack error brought set point. Nelson came in clutch once again to stave off the first point, but a kill from Lindsey Vander Weide tied the match at 1-1.
 
After the Ducks raced to a 5-1 lead to start the third set, Nelson provided the Badgers with a much-needed spark once again by notching a kill. Behind unstoppable defense that included two-straight blocks, Wisconsin roared back with an 8-1 run to grab a 10-7 lead. After one kill apiece from Nelson and Gillis paired with a block by Kriskova and Nelson, the Badgers forced the Oregon timeout at 16-11. The Ducks encroached on the Badger lead and a 3-0 Oregon run cut it to 23-19. A Nelson swing then brought set point, but two Bettendorf putaways held off two UW set points before Gillis closed the set with another kill.
 
The mounting Oregon attack carried over into the fourth set. After a Vander Weide kill gave the Ducks the lead at 5-4, Williams responded with a kill of her own but two ensuing swings by Agost put the Ducks up 7-6. Thanks to two Bates kills and a Duck error, the Badgers took the lead at 9-7 and refused to give it back up. Following an Oregon block to tie it at 10, Nelson rose to the occasion by putting away a pivotal kill. Nelson's swing also sparked a 5-1 run aided by two blocks and back-to-back kills by Gillis.
 
With their season on the line, the Ducks refused to go down without a fight. A putaway by Lauren Page sparked a 4-1 Oregon run to come dangerously close at 18-16, but two Kriskova kills in three points put the Badgers up 21-18. With a first round victory within reach, Gillis and Kriskova put away one kill apiece to pull away from Oregon. Gillis tallied her 14th kill of the match to bring match point at 24-19 and Williams secured the Badgers a spot in the second round with a final kill.
 
Bates followed Gillis with 13 kills while Nelson and Kriskova totaled 10 kills apiece to round out the balanced Badger attack.
 
Next up, Wisconsin faces Iowa State in the second round tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the UW Field House. The match will air live on the Big Ten Network.