COLLEGE PARK, Md. – A balanced offensive attack led the Badgers to a season sweep of Maryland, winning 25-10, 25-21, 25-9, in Maryland on Friday night.
A new lineup for the Badgers (23-1, 14-1) hit the court, with Anna Smrek out, as Temi Thomas-Ailara moved to right side. Julia Orzol returned to outside and Gulce Guctekin commanded the back court at libero.
Sarah Franklin led the team with 10 kills, Devyn Robinson and Carter Booth were not far behind with nine kills apiece. As a team, UW hit a season-high .500 (41 kills – 1 error – 80 attempts).
Maryland (15-12, 5-10) hit just .037 (27 – 23 – 107) as Sam Crise had a match-high 15 kills.
Izzy Ashburn finished with a team-high nine digs and added 23 assists. MJ Hammill added 12 helpers.
The Badgers continued their roofing campaign, as they tallied 13 blocks, compared to Maryland’s single block. CC Crawford tallied seven total blocks, as Robinson and Booth had six and five, respectively.
UW added five service aces to their impressive win, with five different players tallying an ace.
Pure dominance from UW led to a 25-10 win in the first set. The Badgers sided out on the first point, and then Orzol rattled off nine straight serves, to give Wisconsin 10-1 lead. Once again, the Badgers sided out immediately, teeing up another run, giving them a 16-1 lead. From there, the Badgers closed out the set.
Maryland brought more intensity in the second set as they kept it within six points for a majority of the set. A kill from Franklin forced a Maryland timeout at 18-11. Maryland strung together a few points, but the Badgers still led comfortably at 23-17. Maryland forced two UW timeouts in the final points of the set, but back to back kills from Franklin put the set away, 25-21.
Wisconsin stepped on the gas in the final set, and once again jumped out to a 10-1 lead. They continued to build upon that lead, as Ashburn added to it with a 5-0 serving run to extend the lead to 22-6. The Badgers controlled the set, allowing Maryland just nine points. UW won the set and match, 25-9.
Straight from the court
Head Coach Kelly Sheffield On offensive performance: “We started out really well in all three sets and I think that was kind of the key… I loved how we were scrambling the entire match… I was real proud, with a new lineup.”On adapting to a lineup in a tough place to play: “Those are some things we do in training. That’s the strength of our program. When you have some people move around, it’s not that big of a deal. They don’t treat it like a big deal. We really wanted to come in here and play well. This is a tough place to play well, as is the place we are going to play tomorrow.”Junior Julia Orzol On returning to outside: “It was wonderful to be back there. I feel like I didn’t notice a lot of difference. Just balling out, and there was a lot of support from the girls…it was fun. I feel like it felt very natural.”On GG at libero: “The way she responds to different outcomes on the court. I feel like she is always forward on and that is something you need from a person you’re doings things next to.”
Notes to know
- With the win, head coach Kelly Sheffield surpasses former head coach Pete Waite for the most Big Ten wins (171) in program history.
- The Badgers recorded 13 blocks, marking the 12th match where the Badgers have recorded double-digit blocks.
- Wisconsin had a season-high (41-1-80) hitting percentage at .500.
- Senior Sarah Franklin has now tallied double-digit kills in 18 matches. She led the team with 10 against Maryland.
- UW held the Terrapins to a (27-23-107) .037 hitting percentage. This marks the eighth time where the Badgers have held their opponents under .100.
Up Next
Wisconsin will remain on the road to take on No. 19 Penn State in Happy Valley on Saturday night. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and the match will be broadcasted on Big Ten Network.
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