A rematch of last year’s Final Four battle between Texas and Wisconsin unfolded in remarkably familiar fashion: two competitive sets, including two dominant sets by the No. 1 Longhorns (1-0), who won 3-1 (28-30, 25-23, 15-25, 11-25) over the No. 3 Wisconsin Badgers (0-2) in Milwaukee.

In the opening set, Wisconsin had a set point at 24-22 against Texas on a kill by senior Anna Smrek. Texas fought back to force extra points and the teams went back and forth in a tight opening set before Longhorns star Madi Skinner got the closing kill at 30-28.

Wisconsin started the match well and attacked well, hitting .350 in the opening set despite losing to the Longhorns. Freshman setter Charlie Fuerbringer, who finished the match with a double double of 43 assists and 11 digs, did well at first to lead Wisconsin’s attack.

After falling behind early in the second set, Wisconsin went on a 4-0 run, led by senior Sarah Franklin. The reigning National Player of the Year finished the day with 25 kills, nine digs, two blocks and an ace while hitting .217. Her most notable moments came on a three-point solo run, where she had a couple of smart kills and an ace to put UW up 16-13 in the second set. She also got the kill to push Wisconsin to a 24-23 set point lead before the Badgers tied the match at 1-1 by winning the set 25-23.

But Franklin was one of the few players who had offensive success for the Badgers. Seniors Anna Smrek and Devyn Robinson trailed Franklin with just seven kills apiece, as everything seemed to go through Franklin in the late stages. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter played a lot of volleyball and had 69 offensive attempts.

Compare that to the Longhorns, who had three players — Skinner, Jenna Wenaas and Reagan Rutherford — in double figures, Wisconsin was lopsided and predictable, and Texas took advantage in the third and fourth sets, bullying the Badgers in the later frames.

Fuerbringer, who looked solid in the opener against Louisville, struggled late in the game, relying too much on Franklin, who clearly wore out as the game wore on. With the other forwards struggling, Texas’ block began to make itself felt as Wisconsin struggled in the third and fourth sets. The Badgers hit under .100 in both sets and never looked like they could get back into the game.

Robinson said the team must learn from the mistakes in this match and improve mentally to move forward.

“We just have to get stronger,” Robinson said. “There’s no words that can get us there, we just have to do it.”

One bright spot for the Badgers in this game was that the back row defense looked more confident. True freshman Lola Schmacher had a team-leading 16 digs, sophomore Gülce Güçtekin had nine and Saige Damrow had six on the day. The trio of them played much better and had fewer coverage issues than in the first game, which head coach Kelly Sheffield noted after the game.

“I thought our defensive specialists did a really good job,” Sheffield said. “I thought they stepped up from a couple days ago and there’s some positives to this.”

UW will need to recover quickly from another tough opponent. The Badgers will take on the No. 5 Stanford Cardinal on Monday at 4 p.m. from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. That game will be televised live on FOX.