Badgers volleyball sweeps Border Battle
MADISON – The Wisconsin volleyball team gave the state a split of Sunday’s border battle.
Fox presented the first NFL football/ volleyball double-header on the network and in a bit of smart scheduling, made the event grudge matches featuring Wisconsin and Minnesota -- states that don’t take kindly to losing to the other in anything.
The afternoon started with the Vikings handing Green Bay a 24-10 loss in Green Bay. It ended with the second-ranked Badgers sweeping the Gophers in front of a sellout crowd of 7,229 at the UW Field House.
The 25-13, 25-19, 25-20 victory was the Badgers’ first match at home since falling to Nebraska on Oct. 21. That match drew 612,000 viewers on the Big Ten Network.
Fox’s platform is bigger, which combined with the NFL lead-in, could result in an even larger audience.
“Playing in the Field House every game day is a fun game day,” UW senior outside hitter Sarah Franklin said. “But I think
Wisconsin middle blocker Carter Booth (center) celebrates with Anna Smrek (14) and Temi Thomas-Ailara during a match with Minnesota on Sunday at the UW Field House in Madison. having it on Fox is something that is really going to push the sport forward and something that’s real exciting. I’m excited to see how much further this is going to push volleyball.”
The win was Wisconsin’s fifth straight at home over the Gophers, who dropped to 10-10 overall and 6-6 in the Big Ten with the loss. The Badgers raised their record to
20-1 and 11-1.
Franklin’s hot streak continues
Franklin recorded double-digit kills for the seventh straight match. She finished with 21 kills, one error and a .455 hitting percentage. She also had eight digs, four blocks and two aces.
Franklin led the way, but she got plenty of help. Senior Temi Thomas Ailara had nine kills and a .368 hitting percentage Senior Devyn Robinson added eight kills.
It was a bounce back effort for Thomas-Ailara and Robinson. After hitting -.357 at Michigan State on Friday, Thomas-Ailara’s .368 hitting percentage was her best hitting in 15 days, a run of five matches. Robinson, whose hitting percentage has dipped since she returned from a shoulder injury that caused her to miss three matches, was also on her way to a high hitting percentage for the day – she was at .500 through two sets - before trailing off in the final set and dropping to .200.
UW was credited with just one serve receive error out of 48 chances.
“I thought our three passers (junior Julia Orzol, sophomore Gulce Guctekin and
Franklin) did a really good job and just settled in as the match was going on and kept us in system for one of the best serving teams in the conference,” Badgers coach Kelly Sheffield said. “We were putting up a lot of really good balls and (setters) MJ (Hammill) and Izzy (Ashburn) I thought just did a really good job of running the offense tonight.”
Sophomore Carter Booth totaled four kills and tied senior Caroline Crawford for the team high with six blocks. Three players – Orzol (14), Gulce Gucteken (12) and Ashburn (11) finished with double digit digs.
Minnesota has been ranked as high as fifth this season and received votes in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, but it was out-played Sunday.
The Badgers trailed only briefly early in the second period.
It was heck of a show for a packed house and national TV audience.
“I thought we played well and that is what you want to do any time you take the court, but there is a little bit something extra when you’re trying to grow the game and grow the sport and get more eyeballs on it,” Sheffield said.