Service errors and an erratic backline saw the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (0-1) lose 3-1 (25-18, 17-25, 24-26, 20-25) to the No. 6 Louisville Cardinals (1-0) in the season opener.

On a night when UW defeated Louisville 14-10 and had a higher hitting percentage than the Cardinals, service errors caused the match to begin to unravel after a convincing first-set win.

The Badgers had eight service errors in the second set alone and struggled with serve-receive when they didn’t have the ball, while Louisville tied the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 second set win. Astute readers will note that the Badgers’ poor serving gave Louisville eight free points, and they won that set by eight points.

The sloppy defensive play continued at times for Wisconsin in the third set, but it was much more back and forth than the first two frames. After trading points and tying the score at 11, the Cardinals jumped out to a 3-0 lead to go up 15-12.

The Badger block became much more effective after that point as UW got consecutive shots in to even the score at 16-all. Senior Devyn Robinson had 10 blocks that night as the Badgers’ musclemen dealt the Cardinals a setback, but timely mistakes were the story for Wisconsin.

After another service error gave Louisville a 21-19 lead and the ball in the third, sophomore Saige Damrow, who had two receiving errors, made a series of timely service-reception errors that cost UW. Wisconsin tied the set at 21-21 before Damrow had an overpass that led to a Cardinals kill. Though UW forced additional points with a kill from junior Carter Booth to make it 24-24, a kill from Cards star Anna DeBeer and a poor reception from Damrow led to an ace, Louisville secured the 26-24 set win and a 2-1 lead.

After another rocky start to the fourth set — this time Louisville kept Wisconsin in the match with service errors — the turning point came at 19-18. Damrow led a Louisville service go expecting it to go out, but the Cardinals got an in call for a 20-18 lead they wouldn’t shake.

It feels harsh to highlight all of Damrow’s struggles in her first competitive match of the season, but the backrow defense was inconsistent when she played back. Sheffield, which took advantage of a new NCAA rule that allows two players to play as liberos in a match, had Damrow and junior Gülce Güçtekin alternate the role, with Damrow serving when UW wasn’t serving and Güçtekin serving when Wisconsin had the ball.

It didn’t seem like the right call on a night when Damrow was picked on serve-receive and the coverage often felt split at points. When Louisville made a kill to make it 24-20 in the fourth, there was a huge open space on the Badgers’ side.

The good news for Wisconsin: Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer looked like a star server in a 5-1 rotation. Fuerbringer looked steady, had some creative sets and spread the ball well.

But the back row and serving problems cost UW tonight. Smrek and Devyn Robinson each had four service errors, while Güçtekin had three that night.

Wisconsin will need to turn the game around quickly as the Badgers begin an obstacle course of a non-conference schedule. They play the two-time reigning champions and No. 1-ranked Texas Longhorns on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. followed by a matchup against the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal on Labor Day at 4 p.m.

Both games will be held in Milwaukee at the Fiserv Forum and will both be televised on FOX.