Stanford's Meghan McClure (4), Kate Formico (11), Madeleine Gates (15), Kathryn Plummer (2) and Morgan Hentz celebrate after winning the 2019 NCAA Division I women's volleyball championship. (Photo: Keith Srakocic, AP)

Wisconsin’s drive for an NCAA women’s volleyball title came to a screeching halt on Saturday night.

The Badgers were blown out in the first set and never recovered in being swept away by defending national champion Stanford at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.

Fourth-seeded Wisconsin (27-7), playing in the title game for the third time ever and first time since 2013, looked out of sorts from the open against the third-seeded Cardinal en route to being downed, 25-17.

The Cardinal (30-4) never let off the gas pedal, winning the second set by a score of 25-17 and the third 25-20 to clinch its second consecutive national championship, third in four years and ninth overall, the most all-time.

Wisconsin, which dropped its first set of their semifinal Thursday before winning three straight to roar past top-seeded Baylor, had no such luck this time against a Cardinal team led by outside hitter Kathryn Plummer, the two-time national player of the year.

"Hats off to an unbelievable Stanford team," said Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield, whose team was out-hit by Stanford, .358 to .152 on the night. "I mean, there hasn't been anybody that's done that to us this year. An unbelievable senior class that just 1, 3, or 4, they'll go down as one of the great classes in the history of our sport.

"And Kathryn Plummer might be the best non-All-American in the history of any sport. That was an unbelievable performance."

Stanford's Kathryn Plummer (2) spikes around the block by Wisconsin's Dana Rettke (16) during the NCAA Division I women's volleyball championship match, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) ORG XMIT: PAKS107 (Photo: Associated Press)

Due to injury, Plummer didn't play enough games this season to qualify for All-American status.

Plummer had seven kills in the first set to lead a Stanford attack that hit .441 against Wisconsin, which entered leading the tournament in blocks only to struggle uncharacteristically in that area. The Badgers also hit just .162 in that opening set.

The Cardinal was nearly as dominant in the second set, opening a 9-3 lead. The Badgers didn’t record their first scoring block until the second set was nearly over, with Grace Loberg making it 20-14.

The Badgers drew no closer than five the rest of the set and hit just .100.

An ace by Izzy Ashburn gave Wisconsin  its first lead of the night in the third set, 4-3, and it was 19-19 after a kill by Dana Rettke before Plummer and Madeleine Gates rattled off five consecutive kills to get Stanford to match point.

A kill by Danielle Hart halted the momentum briefly, but Gates immediately responded with a kill of her own to finish off the Badgers.

Plummer finished with 22 kills while hitting .459 with 10 digs and three blocks in being named the tournament’s most outstanding player.

Molly Haggerty led Wisconsin with 10 kills and by hitting .308, while Rettke had seven kills and Hart six for UW.

"We got them out of system a lot in serving. I thought the serving numbers that we put up were really good. I mean, they were really struggling with it. And it didn't matter," Sheffield said. "We haven't had too many teams that have beaten us in our transition game, and they were able to do that.

"But I'm proud of our team and I'm proud of the players here to my right and the ones back here in the locker room. There wasn't any quit. There wasn't any quit out there. And that's been their character all season long, the journey they've traveled.

"We just ran up against a team that is unbelievable. And it's a little bit humbling, but it's a credit to them."

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